Minister defends media authority’s fines: Equal and impartial

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Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Eskişehir MP Utku Çakırözer submitted a Parliamentary question regarding the blackout and high administrative fines imposed by the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) on Fox TV, Halk TV, Tele 1, Habertürk and KRT.

Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy has responded to this Parliamentary question, defining the fines imposed by the country's media authority as "equal and impartial evaluations."

Minister Ersoy has also answered the question regarding the five-time broadcast suspension and the upper-limit administrative fine imposed on Habertürk over the remarks of CHP Mersin MP Ali Mahir Başarır regarding the privatization of Turkey's Tank Tread factory.

In his response to the related question, Ersoy has indicated that "the host of the program did not react seriously to Başarır's remarks or openly objected when compared to the reactions of other program guests."

Çakırözer: 54 fines in only 2020

CHP MP Utku Çakırözer has criticized the Minister's reply to his Parliamentary question. Releasing a written statement about the issue, Çakırözer has referred to a previous report by İlhan Taşçı, a RTÜK Supreme Board member from the CHP, and said: "Only in 2020, Halk TV, Tele 1, KRT, Fox and Habertürk were fined for 54 imes in total."

According to the related report, pro-government A Haber, ATV, Kanal 7 and other channels were fined only four 4 times in the same period.

While Halk TV was faced with 15 sanctions including five-day blackouts, Tele 1 was given 19 sanctions in total, again including five-day blackouts.

KRT was faced with 3 administrative fines, Fox TV with 9 administrative fines and 3 main news bulletin suspensions and Habertürk was faced with 7 sanctions in a year. "The TV channels questioning the government were fined 10 million TRY in total in 2020," Çakırözer has said.

'They want to silence the press with fines'

Çakırözer has also raised concerns that despite hundreds of complaints, the pro-government channels were fined only 400 thousand lira, which marks a 50-time difference. "What is impartial or equal about these fines," the main opposition MP has asked, underlining that "the TV channels doing real journalism are attempted to be silenced with the heaviest administrative fines and blackouts upon the order of the RTÜK Chair himself."

"All of these decisions are political; they are unfair, unlawful and disproportional. It is nothing but ridiculing the nation to say, 'We act equally and impartially' while the RTÜK stands in the way of impartial and equal media in Turkey as the sole obstacle," Çakırözer has noted. (RT/SD)