Criticism Against Journalist Arrests in Turkey

Turkey is certainly going through some difficult times in parallel with the transformation the government claims it has been undertaking for some time now. The most recent detention and arrests of many a journalists however has been a big headache for the government as international establishments have forwarded major criticism against such practice by the Turkish judiciary.

Indeed, this kind of practice exercised on journalists is considered to be a serious threat to press freedom and contradict the claims of the government to bring true democracy into the country.

Down below is a piece of news drawing a clear picture of the situation the country through the eyes of some int’l establishments.

Dueling narratives of news media freedom in Turkey

The international campaign aimed at destroying Turkey’s global image is being backed by the national media, says Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. DAILY NEWS photo, Selahattin SÖNMEZ

Tensions rose further this week over whether Turkey’s press is free or not as a major international watchdog issued a stern warning while the prime minister accused the country’s media of intentionally smearing his government.

The detention of journalists in Turkey is an “alarming threat to press freedom” and contradicts the country’s image as a democratic role model in the Middle East, the U.S.-based human-rights organization Freedom House said in a press statement released Monday.

“This escalating war against media independence is seriously at odds with Turkey’s self-proclaimed image as a model Muslim democracy,” said Karin Deutsch Karlekar, managing editor of Freedom House’s Freedom of the Press index.

The group criticized the “ongoing harassment” and detention of journalists in Turkey, including a number who have been held for two years without trial, and called on Turkish leaders to reverse the trend by instituting policies to protect media independence and releasing journalists held in cases where charges have not been brought or serious evidence not produced.

On Tuesday, a day after he accused the foreign press of contributing to a “defamation campaign” against Turkey, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan slammed the domestic media for “backing” that effort.

Speaking to his party group in Parliament, Erdoğan criticized journalists for complaining about “the lack of press freedom when journalists are using their status as journalists to carry out a conspiracy.”

He called on the international press to look closer at the events in Turkey, accusing Turkish journalists of assisting terrorist organizations in the country, and warning that the situation in Turkey is being reflected incorrectly by the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP.

“Journalists in Turkey are free to write what they want without limits. Such an international campaign to destroy Turkey’s image internationally, backed by a national campaign, is hurtful,” he said.

“We are a party that believes democracy cannot exist without freedom of press,” Erdoğan said, defending his ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP’s, stance on press freedom. He added, however, that the AKP came to power “despite the media. No one should doubt that the people determined our course, not the media.”

High number of journalists in prison

In its statement, Freedom House singled out for particular attention the cases of Nedim Şener and Ahmet Şık, describing them as the country’s leading investigative reporters. The two journalists were among a group recently arrested for alleged links to an illegal organization plotting to topple the AKP government. The arrests triggered widespread protests and received strongly worded criticism from the United States and the European Union as well as human rights organizations in Turkey.

“In all, some 50 journalists are currently in prison, one of the highest numbers of imprisoned journalists in the world,” Freedom House said.

“The harassment of media outlets and journalists who oppose government policies is a clear attempt to silence critical voices and to restrict media diversity,” said Karlekar.

“Other journalists targeted as part of the ongoing Ergenekon investigation – such as Mustafa Balbay – have been detained for more than two years without charge. These continuing detentions are a clear violation of the journalists’ rights and those detained should either be charged and tried, or released,” she added.

The entire Ergenekon prosecution, “with its open-endedness and absence of transparency” raises serious questions about the state of Turkish democracy, Karlekar said. “Furthermore, this escalating war against media independence is seriously at odds with Turkey’s self-proclaimed image as a model Muslim democracy.”

In addition to the mounting number of arrests, Freedom House noted with concern that over 4,000 lawsuits are pending against journalists in Turkey.

Turkish President Abdullah Gül expressed concern in recent remarks about the situation and said the arrests cast a shadow over the level of progress Turkey has reached, an image he said is lauded by everyone. Erdoğan said, however, that nobody was in prison in Turkey because of journalism but because of other charges, including membership in an armed terrorist organization.

Turkey is ranked as Partly Free in Freedom in the World 2011, Freedom House’s survey of political rights and civil liberties, and Partly Free in Freedom of the Press 2010

March 15, 2011

SOURCE: Hürriyet Daily News
by FULYA ÖZERKAN