151 journalists released a statement in solidarity with Karşı newspaper staff who have resisted for two months in the newspaper premisses in order get their unpaid indemnities and wages.
Signed by 151 journalists, the statement’s headline was as follows: "We support the Karşı Resistance. This resistance is belonging to all of us!”
Obstacle in front of press freedom
“Resisting since April 13, the workers of Karşı newspaper started to work in Karşı by leaving their former news outlets with the hope to perform the journalism profession in a free environment, and they were guaranteed by their boss that the newspaper would run at least for one year’,” the declaration reminded.
“We, the press workers, have been fired by 10s, 50s and 100s every year in the period named ‘the season of reduction-in-force’,” they mentioned.
“If we haven't been fired yet, most of us consider ourselves lucky, and most of the time we keep in silent against the intensive labor exploitation, expropriation of the rights, any kind of unfair and unlawful treatment, censorship, oppression and disregard of our professional dignity due to fear of being unemployed,” they added.
“As a result of not to organize in union and act together, we have abandoned our future, hopes, dreams, professional dignity and the people's right to demand information to the mercy of the boss,” they pointed out.
“The media bosses and public opinion in Turkey should have to realize that the situation of the press workers is the biggest obstacle in front of the freedom of press in Turkey,” they warned.
“The break of the political oppression and press that obliged the press to the ‘Penguen’ mock and ‘Alo Fatih’ [the editor of the Habertürk who called and warned by PM Erdogan due to news' content] would be only possible thanks to the right and power of the press workers for protecting their professional dignity," they concluded.
“Karşı resistance showed us the power of resisting together against the system and the solidarity after for years. This just beginning,” they ended.
The declaration ended by mentioning the solidarity of the journalists with the resisting colleagues in Karşı newspaper. (AS/CB/BM)
* To access twitter account of the Karşı resistance, please refer to here.
* Click here to read the article in Turkish.
