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Erol Önderoğlu, the Representative of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in Turkey, expressed his concerns about media freedom in the country following the presidential runoff election that resulted in Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's victory.
Önderoğlu highlighted that the elections in Turkey took place in an unfair media environment and called on Erdoğan and members of parliament to "adopt a stance that aims to permanently restore the press freedom, which has suffered in the past 20 years."
He reminded them of the 15-point declaration the RSF published at the beginning of April.
Pro-government bias in media coverage
Önderoğlu said, "During the election process, where many journalism and press freedom organizations, including RSF, expressed concerns, that the government did not show any discomfort towards biased coverage and conditions that contradicted the principle of equality.
"The ruling power does not shy away from the enthusiasm of an election that has been quite unequal, considering the privileged media conditions. Therefore, we are deeply concerned about media freedom and the future of transparent and impartial journalism. It seems that more challenging days lie ahead."
Calling for the pursuit of an unbiased status for the media, the prevention of turning the judiciary into a weapon against critical journalists, and taking forward-looking steps in ethical journalism, Önderoğlu emphasized, "As RSF, we remind the public of the 15-point recommendations we announced before the election process to enhance media freedom. Regardless of who holds power, I believe that RSF's 'Declaration of Principles' is an important document that should be taken into account by any political will that aims to enhance media freedom." (HA/VK)
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