Journalists protest police violence: 'We can't breathe'

Click to read the article in Turkish

Journalists have protested police officers' violence towards photojournalist Bülent Kılıç during the LGBTI+ Pride March on June 26.

Covering the pride march for AFP, Kılıç was detained with officers kneeling on his neck and back. He was heard saying "I can't breathe."

Journalism groups and unions yesterday (June 29) staged demonstrations in front of the governor's offices in İstanbul, Ankara and İzmir. Kılıç attended the demonstration in İstanbul, where journalists marched from Babıali to the Governor's Office and then left their cameras and notebooks in front of it.

"They tried to leave me out of breath"

Giving a speech there, Kılıç said, "The officer kneeled on my neck is still on duty. Which one of you feels safe?"

Thanking his colleagues for showing support, he said, "The whole public embracing this with such a reaction made me very happy."

His colleagues from Anadolu Agency, CNN Türk, NTV and other outlets called him after the incident but some of those outlets did not report on the incident, Kılıç said.

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"It must have been a minute. I still get more demoralized when I think about it. Because there is nothing as brutal as trying to stop a person from breathing. Unfortunately, I witnessed this firsthand.

"Everyone who called me spoke sincerely. They said such violence can't be accepted. The footage was so grave that people gave such a reaction.

"My colleagues from various television stations and newspapers have been calling me. Because they know me, we know each other. We are together on the streets. We've been in this job for years.

"But for some reason, some television stations and newspapers didn't cover it. This made me very sad. This is a professional problem ... When a doctor is beaten at the emergency service, all doctors embrace them, right? Why don't all journalists do that in this case of violence?"

Journalists' public duty

"#wecanthbreathe"

After Kılıç, professional organizations made a joint statement read out by journalist Filiz Gazi.

"The right to protest, which is guaranteed by the Constitution, is banned in practice. People who have financial difficulties, who have been unfairly fired, who want to protect their neighborhoods, forests, seas, who oppose attacks on their identity are subjected to violence by the police and gendarmerie and can't make their voices heard. It's journalists' duty to report on these citizens who take to the streets to seek their rights.

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"However, our colleagues face severe violence when they are performing their duty on behalf of the public. After the illegal circular of the Ministry of Interior that photos of police officers cannot be taken during demonstrations, this violence has become much more dangerous.

"Security officers who intervened in the pride march that was tried to be held on Saturday by LGBTI+ individuals and citizens who support them got AFP photojournalist Bülent Kılıç, who wanted to record the violence, on the ground and kneeled down on his neck, trying to make him out of breath. Bülent Kılıç, who could hardly say 'I can't breathe' and came back from death's door."

"Don't rely on impunity"

"On the same day, other colleagues of ours were prevented from doing their jobs. There were colleagues of ours who were battered, harassed and had to delete the images they took. With these lawless practices, law enforcement forces prevent the public's right to learn the truth. It is not only our colleague whom they left breathless but also the people's right to information.

"If the purpose of this wave of violence is to intimidate journalists and prevent them from performing their duty, we once again say loudly that it is not possible to achieve this purpose. Journalism is not a crime and we will continue to do journalism. We will not get used to journalists being subjected to violence, we will never accept it!

"We warn the officers who think about insisting on these inhumane methods: Don't rely on the shield of impunity! We won't let you suffocate journalism." (HA/VK)