99 Years and Censorship Survives
The questionnaire includes the following categories:
Attacks, arrests and threats
Threats and interference when trying to access news
Illegal frameworks and arbitrary court cases
Censorship and auto-censorship
Public media
Administrative and financial pressure
Internet and new media
When one reads those headings, one is reminded of many events in Turkey in 2007 which have moved it further down the ranks.
We live in a country which celebrates the 99th anniversary of the abolishment of censorship, but in reality it has become difficult to even discuss the censorship and auto-censorship which operate at government level, in public institutions, and in commercial groups.
A fitting example is this country's Prime Minister, who has been keen to get publicly even with a caricature magazine he probably does not even read. Think what the Prime Ministerial Office is capable of then...
Censorship by the PM, companies and the public sector
Europe has interpreted the election success of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) as the result of "popular leadership". Is it just us who did not understand that Erdogan's court cases against dozens of journalists and caricaturists were part of a grand election campaign?
A company can claim millions of YTL in compensation because a news item has "reduced its commercial credibility". Someone else wants 300,000 YTL from a local newspaper which covered complaints about workers' rights.
Whenever the government uses the Savings Deposits Insurance Fund (TMSF) to confiscate media groups because of debts or "irregularities", there are increased claims of interference in the publications/broadcasts. The TMSF denies such interferences.
Maltreatment of journalists
Let us make it clear how esteemed the journalism profession is in Turkey: Hrant Dink was killed; the number of attacks on journalists has reached two-digit numbers, and it has become commonplace for reporters to receive threats.
How will our ranking be affected by the fact that dozens of journalists, writers and academics are forced to apply for police protection?
We have become used to journalists being tried in the same court rooms as drug dealers, armed robbers and the finance mafia, ...what is new is the pressure on journalists to reveal their sources...
The main opposition party has not deemed it necessary to lobby for the freedom of expression and the press; can the government put an end to the hypocrisy with its cries for a continuation of EU reforms? At least we can send a louder voice to the new parliament.
Last year Turkey ranked 98th out of 168 countries, and it shared this position with Bhutan and the Ivory Coast.
This year, we may sink even lower.... (EÖ/EÜ/AG)