* Photo: Ali Ballı / AA
Click to read the article in Turkish
Amid ongoing debates about the attempted censorship of the Radio and Television Council (RTÜK) on the news regarding the fires raging across Turkey, a group of journalists have been denied accreditation.
Some journalists wanted to cover the recent situation in and around the Kemerköy Thermal Power Plant in Muğla's fire-hit Milas district; however, they were reportedly not allowed to enter the area.
Speaking about the incident on live FOX Main News Bulletin, reporter Gülşan İnce shared the following information:
"For days, we had been reporting on the approaching flames right beside the Kemerköy thermal power plant. But, now, we are almost 2 kilometers away from it. Because, today, at the gendarmerie checkpoints, we faced an accreditation hindrance we had difficulty understanding.
"In fact, it is not only me. The gendarmerie has a list and the institutions who are not on that list were not allowed to enter.
"At first, we actually thought that it was a measure specifically taken for the surrounding area of the thermal power plant.
"But, today, we were informed that three ministers would meet and then, the Minister of Energy would make a statement. We, as laborers of the press who had been working here for days, came together and started waiting at the gendarmerie checkpoints to enter the thermal plant. Then, it was said that 'journalists could come in now.' We got going right afterwards; however, as the FOX logo was seen on our window, they did not let us in."
'A Haber, CNN Türk, AA and TRT on the list'
Journalist Mirgün Cabas has also announced the issue on Twitter. "The area around the power plant was blockaded by the gendarmerie in the morning. They did not let anyone pass, including the press. Then, the blockade was eased, but only for 'some media'," Cabas has tweeted.
"The gendarmerie officers were looking at the list in their hands and giving permission accordingly. Those reporters entered, but the news was still left outside," the journalist has added further.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) photojournalist Yasin Akgül has also announced that they were faced with the prevention of the gendarmerie:
"When we went to the Kemerköy Thermal Power Plant to report on its current condition and surrounding area, the gendarmerie told us, 'We have a list, you cannot enter as you are not on that list'."
According to what Yasin Akgül has said, the pro-government media outlets A Haber and CNN Türk, the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) and state broadcaster TRT were on the list of the gendarmerie. "But how will people get news," has the photojournalist asked in protest.
Press Council: Discrimination even amid disaster
The Press Council has confirmed the discriminatory attitude faced by journalists. The Council has announced that the teams such as Fox TV, Halk TV and Reuters were not allowed to enter the area where the ministers would make a statement about the fire. It has added that journalists were not let in by the gendarmerie upon the order of the Ministry of Interior.
Denouncing the incident in a written statement titled "This is crude censorship, above all else", the Press Council has underlined that the related action is "an arbitrary practice that cannot be encountered in any democratic country" and "disregard of the people's right to receive news."
"This is openly in violation of the freedom of expression and press, which is guaranteed by our Constitution and laws," the Council has stressed.
The Press Council has noted that the prevention faced by some journalists means the "differentiation of press members as the ones doing real journalism in favor of the people and those reporting news in favor of the government," underlining that "it is a great injustice inflicted on both the journalists facing the prevention and others."
Concluding the statement, the Council has expressed its solidarity with the journalists "subjected to this illegal and antidemocratic practice" and "condemned the political mentality that discriminates against journalists even amid a disaster and subjects them to accreditation." (HA/SD)
