Press Council: Press Cards Regulation Should Be Withdrawn

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The Press Council has said in a statement that the latest changes made to the Press Cards Regulation will have negative impact on the people's right to access information and journalists' ability to do their jobs freely.

The council has also said that cancellation of press cards will be easier with the new regulation. Highlights from the statement are as follows:

'New regulation can cause arbitrary decisions'

* Article 29 of the new regulation says, "Acting against national security or public order or making these acts a habit" can cause the cancellation of press card.

* The article, which includes very ambiguous expressions, can lead to arbitrary decisions.

'Journalists can lose their press cards because of what they write'

* The article 6 stipulates that to get a press card, one should not be convicted of certain crimes.

* This means that many journalists who have been sued because of what they wrote can lose their press cards.

'Representation of professional associations is constrained'

* The new regulation also constrains the representation of professional associations in the press card council.

* We demand the abandonment of this regulation change, which we regard as highly anti-democratic.

'Journalist associations should issue press cards, not the government'

* Freedom of press is indispensable for democracies. For press freedom, the journalists should be able to freely express their thoughts.

* For this, press cards should be issued by a commission which consists of professional associations and unions.

* If this is not to be done, this regulation should be canceled and a structure that protects journalists, press freedom and democracy should be established. (EKN/VK)