Two Journalists Receive Prison Sentences For Commenting on Kurdish Guerrilla PKK

Daily Evrensel’s desk editor in-charge Mehmet Uğraş Vatandaş and license holder Ahmet Sami Belek have been sentenced to one year in prison for publishing a declaration by the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK).

The 14th High Criminal Court of Istanbul, which tried the case, did not even convert the sentence to a fine, let alone postpone it. Evrensel, according to its lawyer Devrim Avcı, already appealed the ruling, but it has not seen the legal background for the decision yet.

Protests

The employers of the newspaper protested the court ruling against them at the press release they held at the Journalists Association of Turkey (TGC).

Speaking at the press release, Evrensel’s desk editor Fatih Polat said Vatandaş and Belek had been punished for Çetin Diyar’s article titled “Son Pişmanlık Neye Yarar?” (What good is final regret), which was published on December 10, 2007 and included a declaration of seven articles by the PKK under the title “Democratic Solution.”

The demands stated in the declaration were “the recognition of the Kurdish language”, “the removal of the obstacles in front of the Kurdish language and culture”, “recognition of the right to unhindered political activity and association based on the freedom of thinking, belief and expression”, “the release of all the political prisoners”, “the abolishment of the system of Village Guards, a state-sponsored paramilitary organization, and the return of the villagers back to their villages”, “the extension of the powers the local administrations have”, and “the initiation of the process that will enable the guerillas to lay down their arms gradually, dates of which are to be determined by both sides, and to join the political life.”

“The attitudes of the President and the Chief of Staff affect the process negatively”

Emphasizing how natural it is for a writer to discuss the arguments of the opposing sides, Polat argues that both Prime Minister’s attitude towards the media and the Chief of Staff’s explanations make it difficult for the judiciary to make decisions that put the freedom of expression before anything else.

Polat also said, “the decisions to close the newspapers Alternatif, Gelecek, Gerçek, Atılım and Azadiye Welat show that the judiciary is put in a sensitive situation in relation with the Kurdish Problem and that we are passing through a period during which the freedoms are easily sacrificed to the issue of [national] safety.” Polat called upon the professional media organizations, the forces of the labor and the democracy, and their readers not to leave them alone.

Support from the unions

Speaking on behalf of the Confederation of Public Worker’s Unions (KESK), Songül Beydilli said they protested the decision. President of  Gıda-Iş (Union of Food Workers) Seyit Aslan said, “When we look at the developments in Turkey and the world, we see that those who are against this system and who are for uncovering the facts are under very serious pressure.” Another unionist Mehmet Demir and broadcasting coordinator of Hayat TV İskender Bayhan too showed their displeasure with the decision. (EÖ/EÜ/TB)