French press unions SNJ, SNJ-CGT and CFDT-Journalist issued an urgent statement and called on Eutelsat to go back on their decision to stop broadcast for Kurdish television networks Ronahî TV, Stêrk TV and News Channel.

The unions pointed out that enacting such a decision will mean supporting Erdoğan’s policies in Turkey, a country that has turned into an open prison for journalists, with press freedom completely trampled.

The statement also mentioned that the threat against Kurdish televisions was on the agenda in the European Journalists Federation general assembly held in Romanian capital Bucharest on May 18-19, 2017 and that “A proposal was accepted unanimously.”

The statement remarked that the French press unions stood against a similar practice in October 2016 and supported Kurdish televisions Med Nûçe and Newroz TV, and that French justice annulled Eutelsat’s decision and ruled to have these television networks continue broadcasting.

The unions pointed out that today Eutelsat, with the majority of shares held by the French state, was preparing to halt broadcast for 3 other Kurdish channels under pressure from RTÜK, the radio-television authority under orders from the Erdoğan regime.

The statement said shutting down any of the three networks would mean dealing a blow to press freedom in Turkey, a country under the Erdoğan regime that has turned into an open prison for journalists, and called on Eutelsat Director General Rodolphe Belmer to not enact these threats.

European Journalists Federation General Assembly called on the French government, which holds the majority shares in Eutelsat, to refrain from enacting this decision that threatens the freedom to provide news. The statement pointed out that the freedom to provide news is one of the core values of Europe.

European Journalists Federation General Assembly also called on the Council of Europe to take action on the Turkish state.