(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – ARTICLE 19 released the following statement on 24 July 1998: In a comprehensive report published on 24 July 1998, ARTICLE 19 and the Kurdish Human Rights Project survey freedom of expression conditions in Turkey and conclude that, with 67 journalists in jail, several political parties banned, religious and cultural minorities severely repressed, […]
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – ARTICLE 19 released the following statement on 24 July
1998:
In a comprehensive report published on 24 July 1998, ARTICLE 19 and the
Kurdish Human Rights Project survey freedom of expression conditions in
Turkey and conclude that, with 67 journalists in jail, several political
parties banned, religious and cultural minorities severely repressed, and a
legal framework and government determination to support such measures,
Turkey cannot seriously expect to be considered for EU membership in the
near future.
The Turkish authorities’ determination that the state must be secular,
centralised and unified leads to suppression, by force if necessary, of any
attempts to exercise publicly the right to freedom of expression on
cultural, political and religious issues, since these are judged to
undermine the indivisibility of the state.
The authorities consider journalists a threat, use rigid licensing
regulations to control them and wilfully fail to view journalists as
distinct from the issues or people on which they are reporting.
The Kurdish minority makes up more than ten per cent of the Turkish
population, yet anyone who raises Kurdish issues is defined as a supporter
of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Association), an organisation which advocates
violence to overturn the Turkish state. This has led to prosecutions and
imprisonment of academics, journalists, newspaper vendors and even
democratically elected politicians. Others have faced extra-legal measures
ranging from police harassment to murder by armed groups linked to the
state.
Frances D’Souza, Executive Director of ARTICLE 19, said:
“It is ironic that Turkey complains that it is being denied entry to the EU
because of its Islamic population, when it persecutes anyone attempting to
express an Islamic identity in the country. There is an urgent need for
Turkey to undertake reforms so that freedom of expression is upheld as a
fundamental right under the law, rather than being penalised on a regular
basis.”
Kerim Yildiz, Executive Director of the Kurdish Human Rights Project, said:
“The Constitution is one of the primary obstacles to freedom of expression
in Turkey. Currently, many of Turkey’s laws fall well below internationally
accepted standards and contravene the government’s most basic legal
obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and commitments
under the United Nations Charter.”
The only ‘free’ press in Turkey is that which avoids subjects deemed taboo
by the government. Terrestrial broadcasting is controlled by the Radio and
Television Supreme Board (RTÜK). Set up in 1994, the body has carte blanche
to suspend stations and is currently stepping up its pace of censure.
Closure orders against three pro-Kurdish radio stations totalling 240 days
are being implemented since May 1998. Islamic stations also expect a
clampdown, following a warning from the RTÜK’s head in March 1998.
Satellite television is more difficult to control, and is used for Kurdish
language broadcasting, which remains illegal. Nevertheless, warnings that
those caught watching Med TV2 will be imprisoned for up to three months have
been broadcast over loudspeakers in one town in southeastern Turkey. People
with satellite dishes reported that their homes had been raided and that two
men were detained for watching Med TV. Police also seized a satellite
television decoder in 1997, and at the beginning of 1998, commercial outlets
were ordered to note the names of buyers of satellite dishes.
Until June 1998 there appeared to be no restrictions on information received
or imparted through the Internet. However, in June, 18-year-old Emre Ersöz
got a 10-month suspended prison sentence for “publicly insulting the state
security forces” after criticising on the Internet police ill-treatment of a
group of blind people protesting against potholes in Ankara’s pavements.
Turkey is one of the relatively small minority of countries which has not
signed or ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
However, it is a member of the Council of Europe and a signatory to the
European Convention on Human Rights (it signed in 1954).
The European Court of Human Rights has found Turkey to be in breach of its
freedom of expression obligations (Article 10) on several occasions. More
cases are pending which Turkey is also likely to lose. The European Court
has proposed that prosecutions for spreading separatist propaganda, (a
charge often used against writers, including academics and journalists)
should not take place without the presence of a clear and imminent risk to
national security.
ARTICLE 19 and the Kurdish Human Rights Project do not support the Turkish
authorities’ view that human rights are a purely internal affair. In
accordance with the need for external pressure to uphold fundamental rights,
their report makes a series of recommendations, including a number of
amendments to Turkish laws and provisions to ensure that citizens are
guaranteed a right to freedom of association, expression and assembly.
Notes:
1. More than half of the journalists in jail worldwide are in Turkish
prisons.
2. Med TV broadcasts in Kurdish and other languages by satellite from the UK
and Belgium and is perceived by the Turkish government to be close to the
PKK.