(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Turkish Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit, RSF protested “the distribution ban on thirteen publications, most of which are pro-Kurdish, in south-eastern Turkey (a region under emergency rule since 1987)”. RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard asked the prime minister to “do everything possible to put an end to these completely arbitrary bans.” […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Turkish Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit, RSF protested “the distribution ban on thirteen publications, most of which are pro-Kurdish, in south-eastern Turkey (a region under emergency rule since 1987)”. RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard asked the prime minister to “do everything possible to put an end to these completely arbitrary bans.” RSF expressed the view that such measures contradict Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects freedom of opinion and the freedom to receive or impart information or ideas without interference from public authorities. Turkey is a signatory of this treaty.
According to the information collected by RSF, on 1 June 2000, the governor of Diyarbakir (the capital of the zone under emergency rule), banned the distribution of the pro-Kurdish daily “Yeni Gundem” in five provinces. No motive was offered to justify this decision. Twelve other publications – “Dersim”, “Pine”, “Deng”, “Roja Teze”, “Özgür Halk”, “Yasamda Gençlik”, “Özgür Kadinin Sesi”, “Rewsen”, “Azadya Welat”, “Ozgür Bakis”, “Yeni Evrensel” and “Zirpine” – were banned on 1 January. Article 11 of Emergency Law 2935 authorises the governor of Diyarbakir to ban the printing, distribution and entry of publications in the zone.
