Legal Steps against State News Agency

"About 70 employees of Anadolu Agency were forced into retirement against their will during the last week. The weekly days off were reduced to one, people were appointed against their will, dismissed, oral and written defences were requested, warning fines increased" said Ercan İpekçi, President of the Turkish Journalists Union (TGS) in an interview with bianet.

İpekçi stated that the policies of the Anadolu Agency (AA) changed significantly with the new management chaired by Kemal Öztürk. "The things that recently happened at the agency are related to the right to information of the millions of people and of the media", he warned.

AA is the Turkish state news agency and the biggest news agency of the country. It is commissioned with producing news releases related to Turkey.

The TGS President strongly recommended paying special attention to the agency. The management of AA was handed over from Hilmi Bengi to Kemal Öztürk in a ceremony on 3 August 2011. İpekçi argued this did not happen in the course of an ordinary process. He emphasized that this change was made according to the request of the political power.

"Not even the government approves"

"However, I think that not even the government approves of the threatening and destructive policies of the new management lead by Kemal Öztürk", İpekçi continued. He said that AA's function of making news drifted to a situation where they were not able to fulfil this duty properly.

"In case of a mistake or if AA does not see a news, the media will not be able to see that news either. If a news story is being omitted on instruction, it means that a curtain is drawn before the media and the eyes of the public".

İpekçi argued that the lay-offs and changes of positions were not to the benefit of the institution. "AA is an institution that was established before the declaration of the Republic and right now it is not wanted to make real news".

"Legal initiative inevitable"

In a written press release the TGS criticized the intensified pressure on the employees of Anadolu Agency and underlined that implemented applications like threats, harassment, change of working hours, reducing the weekly days off, forced retirement, dismissals, involuntary assignments, unnecessary requests for written and oral defence and warning fines fuelled concerns about the future of the employees.

The press release continued, "The new management of Anadolu Agency that started work upon the 'preference of the political will' is not contented with all that. 52 employees that were not entitled to retire yet were transferred to different positions (...)".

"It is inevitable to take legal steps pertaining to the violation of the legal and union rights of our members who are working at Anadolu Agency" it was announced.

Kemal Öztürk

Kemal Öztürk was born in Ağrı (eastern Anatolia) in 1969. He graduated from the Marmara University Faculty of Communication.

He started writing for the "Girişim" and "Selam" magazines in 1990. In 1995, he started reporting for the Yeni Şafak newspaper and worked for Kanal 7 later on. Öztürk was in charge of the documentary "First Assembly" broadcasted on Kanal 7 that was banned by the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) because it was deemed "contrary to secularism". He then worked as a director of television news and documentaries before he went abroad to study languages. He also conducted research in the field of documentary.

In 2003, Öztürk was communication advisor of Bülent Arınç, then President of the Turkish Grand National Assembly. He also worked as press advisor for current Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He resigned from this position in February 2011.

Öztürk was appointed to the General Directorate of AA in August 2011 after Hilim Bengi wanted to retire.

In 1994, Öztürk published a book entitled "The deceased - the story of a strange boy". The book was later on included in the indictment of the closure case against the now ruling Justice and Development Party. Moreover, Öztürk was sentenced to imprisonment of one year on the grounds of insulting Süleyman Demirel, the 9^th President of the Turkish Republic.

The Andadolu Agency was established in 1920. It was founded with the aim "to make the voice of Turkey heard in the whole world". (IC/VK)