‘Fire cannot be fully quenched until media freedom is ensured in Turkey’

Click to read the article in Turkish

The Progressive Journalists Association (ÇGD) has released its 39th monthly Media Monitoring Report, "covering the censorship, threats, violence, arrest and prosecution towards journalists, losses in professional and labour rights of journalists and media manipulations in Turkey."

Publishing the monthly report as part of its "struggle for freedom of the press, opinion and expression," the Association has presented its report to the public with a written press release titled "The Fire Cannot be Fully Extinguished Until Media Freedom is Ensured in Turkey."

Signed by the Executive Board of the ÇGD, the press statement has underlined the following points about the past month in Turkey:

Assaults, threats, restrictions...

"Having been the ruling party for almost 20 years, the Justice and Development Party's (AKP) hostile attitude towards freedom of the press and right to information has reached a destructive level in the last year.

Here is what we are facing: Journalists have been physically assaulted on the streets, they have been threatened by the officials; fundamental problems are being covered up since the majority of the media outlets are financially dependent on government; ruling party mulls over more restrictions on the social media; public broadcaster TRT's key positions are now being shared by AKP's SETA and Turkuvaz groups, after Gülenists' dominance in the past.

'Government stays silent to assaults'

"Government remains silent on assaults against journalists, 'media created by the government' is regularly spreading disinformation and persons with a record of being anti press freedom are being appointed to senior positions for the aim of 'maintaining power forever'.

"This clearly shows that our constitutional rights, particularly press freedom, are being targeted. The ruling party sees spreading oppression and violence in Turkey as the only way to hold onto power.

"The only way to prevent this aim is to defend freedom of the press and freedom of opinion and expression.

"When journalists report freely and the truth is not hidden from the public, and when the press becomes the voice of people, not the power; this crisis will come to an end." (SO/SD)

Click here for the full report in (Turkish)