**For background see IFEX CH alerts dated 17 January 1995** A new form of censorship is being practised against non-mainstream publications in Turkey. On 6 January, police and courts began confiscating newspapers and magazines deemed “separatist” before they are distributed. The pro-Kurdish daily “Ozgur Ulke”, the right-wing weekly “Taraf”, the left-wing weeklies “Gercek” and “Alinteri”, […]
**For background see IFEX CH alerts dated 17 January 1995**
A new form of censorship is being practised against
non-mainstream publications in Turkey. On 6 January, police and
courts began confiscating newspapers and magazines deemed
“separatist” before they are distributed. The pro-Kurdish daily
“Ozgur Ulke”, the right-wing weekly “Taraf”, the left-wing
weeklies “Gercek” and “Alinteri”, and the pro-Kurdish weekly
“Newroz” have been subject to this new systematic confiscation
effort. CPJ fears that many other periodicals will be confiscated
this way, bringing true censorship to Turkey.
According to testimony received by CPJ from the staff of these
news organizations, the new confiscation mechanism works this
way: Police officers visit the printing presses where these
publications are printed, picking up a sample copy of the freshly
printed issue. According to Turkish law, printers have to submit
a copy of everything they publish to the authorities within 24
hours. So the police have a legal right to have a copy of a new
publication as soon as it is printed. The officers take the
sample to a state prosecutor who then issues a swift confiscation
order based on various articles. Because the process is extremely
speedy, the confiscation order comes before the publications
leave the distribution houses. In the past, confiscation orders
were issued the same or the next day that a publication came out,
based on a sample copy submitted by the printing press.
To reach their readers despite this new strict mechanism, the
aforementioned papers have started to publish second versions
which omit the articles deemed separatist in the prosecutor’s
confiscation order. As a result, the papers have been coming out
with blank spots with the word “Censored” in the place of the
original article. This clearly amounts to prior censorship, a
practice banned by the Turkish Constitution. Article 28 of the
Constitution states that “The press is free and cannot be
censored.” The new system openly gives state prosecutors the role
and authority of “censorship boards” who can read material before
it is published and take out things deemed “improper” for the
state.
Recommended Action
Please write the Turkish authorities:
which results in straight-forward censorship
Appeals To
Her Excellency Tansu Ciller
Prime Minister
Basbakanlik
06573 Ankara, Turkey
Fax: + (90 312) 417 04 76/230 88 96
