Journalists from earthquake-hit cities discuss problems in Hatay

IPS Communication Foundation/bianet organized a workshop in Hatay as part of the project “Journalism for Rights, Freedom for Journalists” with the financial support of the Consulate General of Germany.

In the workshop titled “Journalists Exist with Their Rights”, 15 journalists from Hatay, Osmaniye, Mersin, Antep, Adana, Adıyaman and Erzurum discussed the rights of journalists and freedom of expression in the context of the earthquake. Workshop participants shared their experiences.

“An action cannot be both a right and a crime”

The event started with the opening speech of bianet Managing Editor Vecih Cuzdan.

In the first session, lawyer Deniz Yazgan-Şenay made a presentation titled “Local journalism and legal problems encountered after the earthquake."

She evaluated the problems faced by local journalists, one of the main sources of national news flow, and the interventions after the earthquake in the context of limiting fundamental rights and freedoms.

She discussed the constitutional roots of journalism through the concept of 'freedom of dissemination'. She said that the discourse “Journalism is not a crime” should be read through the principle that an action cannot be both a right and a crime.

Workshop participants also had the opportunity to ask Yazgan-Şenay about the legal problems they were experiencing and get her opinion.

“Tenders started with internet blackout”

In the afternoon session, Hikmet Adal, freedom of expression editor of bianet, made a presentation titled “Violations of freedom of expression and the reporting of violations."

He said that the earthquake violations started on February 6 with a 10-hour internet blackout, followed by Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) Chairman Ebubekir Şahin's statement “It is not the place of anyone to broadcast demoralizing news” and the Disinformation Notification Service, where Communications Director Fahrettin Altun asked people to report news.

Giving examples from BİA Media Monitoring Reports, Adal stated that journalists were subjected to investigations and lawsuits and detained for reporting in the earthquake region.

He mentioned that journalists in the earthquake region were mostly accused of inciting the public to hatred and hostility, disinformation and insulting the president.

He said that in 2023, Turkey ranked as the 15th worst country in the world in Reporters Without Borders' World Press Freedom Index, ranking 165th out of 180 countries. He also stated that in Freedom House's report, Turkey is in the category of countries with “not free internet."

Adal said, “The authorities, who turned a deaf ear to the news of journalists before the earthquake, entered into a race to block journalists after the earthquake. Violations against journalists have become a barometer of freedoms in Turkey.”

Problems faced by journalists in the region

The workshop ended with participating journalists sharing their experiences. The journalists stated that they had difficulties in accessing data while reporting news, that their questions to official institutions and officials remained unanswered, that institutions favored journalists, that they were prevented by the police, that they were sometimes subjected to violence, that the Press Advertisement Agency (BİK) provided support, but that there was injustice as the aid was distributed equally between those who suffered from the earthquake and those who did not, that they were in economic difficulties, and that many newspapers would close down if the force majeure was lifted.

The second workshop of the project will be held in Malatya on Oct 5.