Journalists Conference for Peace

The Press Institute Association and the South-Eastern Journalists Association organized a conference with journalists, media experts and academics in Diyarbakır on 8 May. During the conference, the local newspapers Karakoçan from Elazığ (south-eastern Anatolia) and the Çanakkale Olay newspapers from north-western Turkey announced to be "Fellow Newspapers".

İrvan:  Peace Newspapers Association can be established

Prof. Süleyman İrvan from the Mediterranean University's Faculty of Communication gave a speech on "Media, Empathy and Peace Workshops". He said that the establishment of a Peace Journalists Association could create a solid impact on situations of conflict such as the Kurdish Question. He pointed out the importance of a language of peace to become prevalent in the news.

Nursel Şengezer, editorial manager of the local Karakoçan newspaper (south-eastern Turkey) expressed her appreciation about the newspaper's being 'a pillar of the bridge of social dialogue and peace'. She emphasized that as a women she came that far despite serious problems in local journalism caused by the fact that she is a women.

The conference was attended by Ferai Tınç, President of the Press Institute Association and Hürriyet newspaper writer, President of the Society of Journalists in the South-East (GGC) Faruk Balıkçı, journalist Handan Coşkun, Radikal newspaper writer and TV8 program director Prof. Dr Haluk Şahin, Milliyet newspaper writer Kadri Gürsel, Raif Türk, Mücadele newspaper (Siirt/south-eastern Turkey) owner Cumhur Kılıçoğlu, Kayapınar Municipality press official and writer Aydın Bolkan, media critic and journalist Ragıp Duran, Kadri Gürsel, bianet freedom of expression editor Erol Önderoğlu, Prof. Dr Şengül Özerkan, Talat Polat, Bilgi University member of staff Assoc. Dr Esra Arsan, Hürriyet newspaper readers representative Faruk Bildirici, Zaman newspaper sports journalists Ahmet Çakır, NTV program director Ruşen Çakır, Hürriyet newspaper former readers representative Doğan Satmış and Kurdish politician and writer Altan Tan among other participants.

Doğan News Agency (DHA) reporter Murat Türk explained during the workshop that in the past they were forced to associate witnesses and relatives of killed people in Diyarbakır with terms such as "terrorists" and "separatists". "In fact, the editors in Istanbul and Ankara were expecting that kind of news and meddled with the news. We wanted them to see the reality here and to draw on their empathy", Türk indicated. (EÖ/VK)