‘Solidarity with Özgür Gündem is Objection to Current Situation’

Click to read the article in Turkish/Kurdish

I am a journalist, a citizen. My editorship-in-chief for one day meets exactly with where I stand in life as a journalist and a citizen.

Because I don’t accept restrictions on people’s right to information and limitations for citizens and journalists on making reports.

I started the day at Özgür Gündem with a news meeting that we held with mostly women and a few men. I listened and spoke. This solidarity was important in terms of making what happened with Özgür Gündem’s journalism of 24 years life visible.

Özgür Gündem’s June 3, 2016 issue was prepared. After a short while, we experienced July 15, 2016 Coup Attempt.

Even though it is hard to follow what has been happening in media world during post July-15 period, I will briefly summarize. There are at least 120 journalists and 10 distributors in jail with the latest arrests.

173 media organs (TV, radio, newspaper, website, publishing house) have been closed with the help of the Statutory Decree No. 668 enacted on July 28 and Statutory Decree No.675 enacted on October 3. Over 2,500 journalists have been left unemployed because of these closings. 775 press cards and 49 passports have been cancelled.

All these “measures” lead to blocking of social media channels such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and raids, detentions, attacks, threats are being supported by RTÜK (Radio and Television Supreme Council) penalties.

The already problematic issue of editorial independency is a mere word in Turkey now

This picture also tells a course heading towards a media environment in which different voices are tried to be made unheard, invisible and inaccessible. Solidarity with Özgür Gündem is also an objection to this environment. Journalist-reader watches are like the protests and objections carried out by journalist and right organizations, and establishments of which Turkey is a part. As citizens, it is our right and duty to stand against this imposition.

A journalist has to be free from all governmental influence and be critical against all kinds of political powers. I believe that the only power to inspect editorial policies is journalists themselves, journalism organizations and readers, which is a universal value in journalism.

A news after all tells a story. The claim that this story is “impartial” is just a claim. Therefore, even though a news is what a journalist conveys from his/her own perspective in its most general sense, intervention or intervention efforts of different governmental circles including media owners to these conveys is a fact.

I as a journalist have always advocated right based and peace journalism during the environments of war/conflict/post coup attempt period, and am still doing it. I am practicing journalism from this perspective.

Submitted for your information. (NM/ÇT/TK)