‘bianet will remain independent from all centers of power’

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IPS Communication Foundation Executive Board Chair Nadire Mater and Secretary General Ertuğrul Kürkçü respond to the recent report by the "Center for American Progress" and to the domestic attacks targeting the Foundation's 20 years of incessant struggle for independent media, relying on the report's arguments. The joint statement by Mater and Kürkçü is as follows.

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The "liberal" US think-tank "Center for American Progress" has recently published a report titled "Turkey's Changing Media Landscape".

Taking a critical look at the report as a whole is more than enough to see that what "Center for American Progress" is rather more interested in is how to compensate the US loss of influence in Turkey against Russia than reinforcing democracy, human rights, freedom of media and expression in Turkey. The simple fact that the report refers to the "S-400s" for five times and to "Russia" for another five times whereas there exists only one reference to democracy and freedom of expression each, leaves nothing more to say. Leaving no need to go over the matter with a fine-toothed comb in fact the report itself quite clearly summarizes why it is so closely interested in "Turkey's Changing Media Landscape": "to support democratic governance and anchor Turkey within the transatlantic alliance."

The preferred wording of the conclusion is important: "To support democratic governance": In other words, to extend the influence of non-governmental organizations in the political process. And, by this means "anchor" Turkey within the "transatlantic alliance," namely the international bloc centered around the USA under the security umbrella of the NATO: In other words, to put an end to Turkey's unpredictable swinging to and fro between the blocks. 

In its "conclusion", the report starting from the problems which arises out of the mainstream media's falling under state control during the Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule observes three priority areas and puts forth "recommendations" for "Turkish and international actors" who would pursue the above mentioned purpose: First, to establish cooperation between local newspapers, professional organizations and independent channels; second, to support "fact-checking" initiatives focusing around combating fake news; and third, to provide the independent media necessary funding in order to help them focus on reporting, rather than commentary.

In order to emphasize the above mentioned third priority area the authors of the report highlight the following observation: "Turkish citizens and youth in particular are increasingly turning to online sources for more independent perspectives, but the Kremlin-backed outlet Sputnik Türkiye has often been more successful than its Western-funded competitors at attracting an audience. On Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, Sputnik Türkiye has a total of 1.49 million followers—almost twice as many as Gazete Duvar and more than three times as many as Bianet or Medyascope, online outlets that have received Western support."

It is really pathetic that after all this "research" the authors -Andrew O'Donohue, Max Hoffman and Alan Makovsky- come down to the standard US foreign policy patterns, which any US Secretary of State would adopt at any time, without needing to conduct a special research, and that, in search of a venue for such policies they have set their eyes on independent media centers who have been striving for survival amidst thousands of difficulties. 

We reject the report's basic approach of conditioning democracy with "anchoring" within the US axis. Basing itself on this approach the report further brackets bianet together with other "independent media" platforms as "Western-funded organizations" and attempts within the context of a struggle for influence at positioning independent media against Russia's semi-official news agency. We turn down these suggestions and return to the authors. 

Our response to the authors of this report and to those who in the name of the rulers and relying on the report's baseless arguments attempt at smearing bianet's 20 years of incessant efforts for "rights-based reporting", "freedom of expression" and "media independence" is as follows:

1. bianet.org is an online news channel operated by the IPS Communication Foundation. The foundation carries out all its work and activities within the framework of the current Law on Foundations; and like all other foundations implements its projects, including the publication of bianet.org, with funds raised from various sources. "National Endowment for Democracy," which the report mentions to have "increased its level of funding in support of independent journalism in Turkey sixfold" is not one of  these sources. We have no relation whatsoever with this organization.

2. For its implemented and ongoing projects the IPS Communication Foundation has received grants from sources including various European Union programs, the Sweden International Development Agency (SIDA) and many international journalism and freedom of expression organizations notwithstanding any political and ideological conditions. The date, duration and amount of these grants are published in bianet.org's institutional information pages and further reported within bianet coverage. The foundation keeps no unregistered or unaudited incomes.

3. IPS Communications Foundation is independent of the capital, the state and international power centers; it views neither the "atlantic alliance" nor any other center of hegemony as a guarantee for human rights and freedom of expression; on the contrary, it believes that all these powers pose a constant threat against freedoms even under "rule of law" and that the sole guarantee of practicing "independent and free journalism," which is our basic mission, is keeping an equal distance to centers of power. 

4. Human rights, democracy, rule of law, freedom of expression, right to peace, right to work, women's rights, rights of the child, and rights of nature are by no means "Western" values; these are basic rights of humanity, originating from the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and acquired after hundreds of years of struggle for equality, freedom and justice across five continents against autocracy, colonialism, imperialism, fascism, dictatorships, racism, patriarchy and sexism. The IPS Communication Foundation is focused on the realization of these rights in the sphere of communication; and this is the sole purpose of its activities. On this background there exists no moral, political and professional impediments for us to receive grants from public funds provided by programs with the support of the democratic forces of Europe and the world. Ironically the AKP government, who comprises the major obstacle for the media independence and is annoyed of the media's wathcdog function is the major beneficiary of the EU funds. According to the information on the Directorate for EU Affairs, the AKP governments received EUR 1.3 billion grant from the European Union funds in the 2000-2006 period, 4.8 billion Euro in the 2007-2013 period, and 4.5 billion Euro in the 2014-2020 period; all in all the AKP governmnets in the last 20 years received donations and grants of EUR 10.6 billion. 

5. The classification of bianet, Gazete Duvar, Medyascope and T24 as "Western funded media outlets" and their portrayal as the "competitors" with the so-called "Kremlin-backed" Sputnik Turkey as well as the speculations that follow is the clearest indication that the authors are least interested in the purposes and aims of the struggle for media inependence in Turkey positively. Sputnik —former "Voice of Russia- is not a "rival" of bianet; it is a state agency, subsidized by the Russian Federation to present an image of reality through the prism of Moscow for the followers in Turkey and in other countries as well; it is Russia's "Anadolu Agency". Casting its shadow on bianet and other independent outlets in order to provide a reproduction of reality from the point of view of the "atlantic alliance" is a futile attempt by the Center for American Progress in counterweighing Sputnik. It may be more consistent with their purposes to look for their partners in the Voice of America's Turkish service.

6. IPS Communications Foundation is of course very proud of bianet.org, but it is not the foundation's only project. With its training drives and textbooks on journalism and reporting, opportunites provided for the communication school graduates gain professional experience and with many other efforts the Foundation has played a part, albeit very small, in the formation of the journalistic character of hundreds of reporters already working in the alternative, local and mainstream media. Throughout all these activities, bianet has neither pursued the aim of destroying the mainstream nor becoming a part of it; our concern has never been collecting more "clicks" or to enlarge its audience via "newstainment". As a non-profit and non-governmnetal organ outside the dominant media architecture, bianet.org will continue its efforts for the realization of the people's right to information and citizens' media's overtaking state and commercial media. (EK/NM/TE/SD/VK)