International Federation of Journalists: general secretary: Turkey is largest jail for journalists in Europe

November 6, 2015 By administrator

Participants address a joint press conference at the Press Club in Brussels on Friday. (Photo: Cihan)

Anthony Bellanger, the general secretary of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), said at a press conference in Brussels on Friday that as a result of government pressure on free media, Turkey has become the largest jail for journalists in Europe.
Speaking during a joint press conference at the Press Club in Brussels along with representatives from the Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS),

Bellanger noted that they had been concerned about government pressure on the press in Turkey for some time and that it did not end after the Nov. 1 election.
Bellanger noted that Turkey leads Europe for the number of imprisoned journalists and that more complaints are submitted to the European Council about the conditions journalists in Turkey face than any other country. “Turkey is the largest jail for journalists in Europe,” he said.

“It [following the pressure on the media in Turkey] has become our daily routine work. We were concerned about the situation before Nov. 1 election and it continues after the election,” Bellanger said.
Underlining that the IFJ has taken steps to have the UN impose sanctions on countries that violate press freedoms, Bellanger noted that sanctions must not be understood as simply embargoes; there could also be economic sanctions through international financial institutions such as International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He added that the IFJ and the EFJ wrote a letter to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in late September denouncing restrictions on the freedom of the press and increased censorship in Turkey.
The letter, signed by the heads of the IFJ and the EFJ, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), called for reforms after the Nov. 1 snap election to ensure that the profession of journalism in Turkey recover its position as a profession that is independent, pluralistic and in the service of the public interest.

“We wish to remind you that journalism’s central role in a democracy is to hold government to account by regularly and independently challenging it on its performance and records. A government that responds with hostility, public rebuke and prosecutions is a government that has given up on its own ability to win public support based on the legitimacy of its policies and record in office,” read the letter.
According to Bellanger, international press organizations, along with their Turkish partners, must work harder to protect the rights of journalists in Turkey.

‘Freedom of media in Turkey can be summarized with takeover of İpek media Group’

Also speaking during the press conference, TGS President Uğur Güç said that the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government pressure on free media has continued for years and media freedom in Turkey can be summarized with the takeover of the critical İpek Media Group by a government-backed court order just days before the Nov. 1 election.
On Oct. 28, Turkish police raided the headquarters of the media outlets that are part of Koza İpek Holding after the Ankara 5th Criminal Court of Peace ruled for the takeover of the administration of the holding’s companies in a government-backed move. Supported by riot police in gas masks, police officers and trustees appointed to manage the firms broke down the gate of the corporate headquarters of Koza İpek Holding, used pepper spray on lawyers who tried to protest and made their way into the building by force.
So far, the new trustees have fired 71 journalists from the outlets that make up the İpek Media Group.
TGS İstanbul branch head and reporter for the Evrensel daily Gökhan Durmuş said at the press conference that the pressure on the media in Turkey had brought journalists of different ideologies together to discuss freedom of the press.
“I saw Bülent Keneş, the editor-in-chief of Today’s Zaman, at TGS meetings and I believe this cooperation among journalists who are critical of the government will increase in Turkey because the government pressure on the media will continue to increase,” Durmuş said.
Keneş was briefly arrested in October over a series of tweets critical of the government and Erdoğan. He was accused of “insulting Erdoğan,” a charge that is often brought to punish criticism of the president. Keneş appears in court several times per month for several cases related to his critical tweets.

source: Zaman

EU condemns Turkish raids against media as ’unacceptable’

December 14, 2014 By administrator

The European Union has said a media assault on Zaman daily and other media outlets is an “unacceptable attack” against freedom of media, urging Turkish authorities to respect rights of defendants. Report TodayZaman

Federica Mogherini, High Representative for Foreign affairs and Security Policy and Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, said in a joint statement on Sunday that the police raids and arrests of a number of journalists and media representatives in Turkey are an unacceptable attack against freedom of media, which is a core principle in any real democracy.

“We expect that the principle of presumption of innocence will prevail and recall the inalienable right for an independent and transparent investigation in case of any alleged wrongdoing, with full respect of the rights of the defendants,” the statement said.

“Coming only a few days after our visit to Turkey,” the commissioners said, “which has underlined the importance of EU-Turkey relations, this operation denies the European values and standards Turkey aspires to be part of and which are the core of reinforced relations.”

They recalled that progress in accession negotiations with any candidate country depends on the full respect for the rule of law and fundamental rights.

“We will convey our concerns to the [European] Council, which will on Tuesday discuss enlargement policy, including Turkey. We expect that the strong EU commitment given by our Turkish counterparts during our visit to be translated into deeds,” the commissioners said.

Earlier on Sunday, the EU commission expressed its concern over the Dec. 14 operation in Turkey targeting media outlets and journalists affiliated with the Gülen movement, saying it will continue to follow developments related to the operation with its local delegation.

“We are very concerned about reports reaching us from Turkey about detained journalists and media representatives. Our delegation on the ground is working hard to give us a full picture,” European Commission Spokesperson Maja Kocijancic said.

Ekrem Dumanlı, the editor-in-chief of the Zaman daily, and Hidayet Karaca, the chairman of Samanyolu TV, were detained on Sunday in a police operation that targeted journalists, TV scriptwriters and former police officers.

European Parliament (EP) President Martin Schulz described the raid on the Zaman daily as “troubling” and underlined that media freedom is one of the key values for full membership to the EU, which Turkey has been struggling to be a part of for decades.

“#ÖzgürBasınSusturulamaz [The free press cannot be silenced] key principle to join EU. #Turkey and #pressfreedom proceed in different directions. Raid on #Zaman very troubling,” Schulz said via Twitter.

The #ÖzgürBasınSusturulamaz hashtag has become a worldwide trending topic on Twitter on Sunday. European officials, deputies, politicians as well as human rights organizations have raised their voice on Twitter against the operation on the media.

EP’s Turkey rapporteur shocked by Sunday’s detentions

EP Turkey rapporteur Kati Piri, who recently paid a visit to Turkey for her progress report, also expressed astonishment over the detentions targeting leading media outlets in the country, saying the operation is an “attack on press freedom.”

“Shocked by arrests in Turkey. An attack on press freedom, going after media that criticize government. Waiting for official explanation,” Piri said on her Twitter account.

In her earlier remarks to the Cihan news agency last week, Piri said press freedom will be included in Turkey’s progress report as it is one of the core issues which is at the heart of the values of the European Union.

More than 20 people were also detained in a nationwide operation early on Sunday. A list of suspects to be detained, released by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, shows that 32 people were to be detained.

The suspects are accused of forming, leading or being a member of an armed terrorist organization, forgery and slander, according to a statement released by the prosecutor’s office.

The detentions came days after a government-sponsored bill that made it possible to arrest suspects based on “reasonable doubt” was signed into law.

EP vice president: Media arrests will end Turkey’s accession

Alexander Lambsdorff, the vice president of the EP, stated that the Turkish government’s acts targeting the media are jeopardizing its EU membership.

In his remarks to the Cihan news agency, Lambsdorff said Sunday’s detentions demonstrate “beyond reasonable suspicion” that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has given up its ambitions to join the EU.

“Turkey will be either be a democratic country with an open society and free media or it will squander its future as an oppressive middle income country that will continue to lose its best and brightest to Europe and the United States just as it has under military dictatorship. Today’s events seem to indicate that the government’s choice is for oppression. That is sad news for all friends of Turkey in Europe and around the world but mostly, it is sad news for the people of Turkey,” he said.

Lambsdorff also stated that the media arrests will end Turkey’s EU accession process in Twitter.

In his remarks to Today’s Zaman, Council of Europe Spokesperson Daniel Holtgen said Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjørn Jagland is following the situation in Turkey closely and that the issue will be on Jagland’s agenda during his upcoming visit to Turkey.

“Mr. Jagland says he is always concerned when media freedom is at risk and when journalists are detained or in any way handled in their work. This applies not only to Turkey but to any member state country of the Council of Europe when such events take place, as we’ve seen for the last 24 hours. So we’re examining this closely and the secretary-general will discuss the event with the government in Turkey in early January when we make an official visit to Ankara,” Holtgen stated.

Senior Turkey researcher with the Human Rights Watch Emma Sinclair-Webb viewed the raid on the Zaman daily and Samanyolu TV as another attempt to silence the critical media in Turkey.

“Detention of journos, editors in wider operation looks like another attempt to crack down on Turkey’s critical media. Burden on Turkish govt to show evidence to justify accusing Zaman journos of being part of organization attempting to capture state power,” she wrote on Twitter.

Another reaction came from Sir Graham Watson, the leader of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party in the EP, who said Turkey is illustrating the features of an authoritarian regime.

“European Liberal Democrats are deeply disturbed by the arrests of TV editor Hidayet Karaca and newspaper editor Ekrem Dumanli. Turkey is now displaying characteristics more normally associated with authoritarian regimes. Freedom of expression seriously under threat,” he said via his Twitter account.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) shared reports related to the raid and detention on its Twitter account.

Former Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee Co-chairman Joost Lagendijk said the EU will harshly condemn the detentions. He said people will find it hard to understand why these detentions took place as Zaman and Today’s Zaman are well known in Europe.

“People will realize that the acts of [President Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan and the government have exceed the limits both within and outside the country. Many people see authoritarian tendencies in Turkey. When you search for Erdoğan and authoritarianism in Google, thousands of pages appear. These two words, Erdoğan and authoritarianism, are unfortunately mentioned together,” he said, assessing the detention of the large-circulating daily’s editor-in-chief as “one of the worst events that can happen in a democratic country.”

Turkey: Journalist targeted by Erdoğan takes long leave of absence

November 11, 2014 By administrator

A senior journalist who was targeted by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for criticizing a government development project said on Tuesday he will take a long leave of absence as mounting pressure on the media has started to take a large toll on press freedom in Turkey.

Fatih Altaylı, who writes columns for the Haber Türk daily, attracted the ire of President Erdoğan for an article he wrote about the construction of a third airport in İstanbul saying the site of the airport should be changed because of a number of problematic issues resulting from the location of the project.

Erdoğan publicly accused Altaylı of carrying out a defamation campaign against the government over the third airport. “There is a need for an urgent operation against them,” said the president, referring to Altaylı.

The journalist wrote in his column on Tuesday that what he had previously said about the state of the progress at the construction site was based on facts, interviews and a site survey he conducted personally. “I will continue to work in professional journalism as long as I can,” he said.

He said he had long planned to take a vacation to visit Latin America as well as South Asia, adding that he plans to resume writing upon his return.

Last week, journalist Doğan Satmış, deputy editor-in-chief of Haber Türk, was fired from the paper. Satmış was the right-hand man of Altaylı, who also served as the daily’s editor-in-chief from its establishment until last March, when he was forced to step down from the position.

Altaylı and Satmış were known for trying to follow objective journalism at Haber Türk despite government efforts to control the media outlet, which is owned by businessman Turgay Ciner.

It is very common for Erdoğan to single out journalists and target them publicly due to their criticism of the government or Erdoğan.

Today’s Zaman columnist İhsan Yılmaz, an associate professor of political science at Fatih University, also became one of Erdoğan’s targets recently for his criticism of the government during a meeting abroad.

Erdoğan called Yılmaz a “traitor” last week in İstanbul, without naming the columnist directly.

Moreover, 11 journalists working for Kanal D have been fired from the TV channel, according to media reports. Kanal D is owned by the Doğan Media Group, which until recently tried to remain objective but is said to have ultimately bowed to government pressure due to the government threat of heavy tax fines.