Keskin, Peache in press conference in front of court
Keskin, Peache in press conference in front of court
In a press conference in front of the Çaðlayan Court in Istanbul, chief editor of Özgür Gündem newspaper Eren Keskin said that the repression against the Kurdish press has been the symbol of the repression against the freedom of thought in Turkey. Referring to the bombing events and journalist killings that the Kurdish press has faced so far, Keskin noted that; “Today also, they force us to make a choice between death and imprisonment.”
Keskin’s statement was followed by that of UN law expert and former Parliamentarian and journalist Norman Peache who, speaking on behalf of the German delegation in Istanbul to follow the trial, voiced deep concerns over the recent developments in Turkey and pointed to the removal of the principle of separation of powers in the country. Peache evaluated the imprisonment of around 100 journalists as an “outrage” and remarked that the repression on tried journalists threaten all those involved in journalism in Turkey. “We are also here against the fact that Turkish judiciary has lost independency”, underlined Peache and added that the German delegation will also observe other KCK (Kurdish Communities Union) trials and not allow the Turkish government to cover up any truths.
Speaking after Peache, Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) co-chair Gültan Kýþanak called on all journalists to adopt a common attitude against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan’s repression on journalists who –she underlined- are being tried for informing the public of the developments in the country. “The PM wants journalists to shut their eyes to the Roboski Massacre in the recent past, to the most recent Afyon massacre and to similar events to happen in the future. The government openly wants to have a mind of its own and it is likely to take more steps forward unless it encounters a sensible public opinion against its practices.”
Kýþanak called attention to the intense oppression in Turkey which –she said- has turned into a prison for unionists, lawyers, journalists and many other circles of the society.
BDP Istanbul MP Sýrrý Süreyya Önder evaluated the arrest of journalists as legally groundless and added that; “As a matter of fact, there is a Turkish problem in this country because you cannot go beyond Turkishness here where the Kurdish problem has always been discussed without the real interlocutors and political representatives of the issue.”
Democratic Society Congress (DTK) co-chair Aysel Tuðluk pointed out that the arrest of journalists has been practiced under the cover of the KCK case which she defined as a case of embarrassment. “They have been arrested because they stay out of PM’s protocol press”, Tuðluk added.
Keskin’s statement was followed by that of UN law expert and former Parliamentarian and journalist Norman Peache who, speaking on behalf of the German delegation in Istanbul to follow the trial, voiced deep concerns over the recent developments in Turkey and pointed to the removal of the principle of separation of powers in the country. Peache evaluated the imprisonment of around 100 journalists as an “outrage” and remarked that the repression on tried journalists threaten all those involved in journalism in Turkey. “We are also here against the fact that Turkish judiciary has lost independency”, underlined Peache and added that the German delegation will also observe other KCK (Kurdish Communities Union) trials and not allow the Turkish government to cover up any truths.
Speaking after Peache, Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) co-chair Gültan Kýþanak called on all journalists to adopt a common attitude against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan’s repression on journalists who –she underlined- are being tried for informing the public of the developments in the country. “The PM wants journalists to shut their eyes to the Roboski Massacre in the recent past, to the most recent Afyon massacre and to similar events to happen in the future. The government openly wants to have a mind of its own and it is likely to take more steps forward unless it encounters a sensible public opinion against its practices.”
Kýþanak called attention to the intense oppression in Turkey which –she said- has turned into a prison for unionists, lawyers, journalists and many other circles of the society.
BDP Istanbul MP Sýrrý Süreyya Önder evaluated the arrest of journalists as legally groundless and added that; “As a matter of fact, there is a Turkish problem in this country because you cannot go beyond Turkishness here where the Kurdish problem has always been discussed without the real interlocutors and political representatives of the issue.”
Democratic Society Congress (DTK) co-chair Aysel Tuðluk pointed out that the arrest of journalists has been practiced under the cover of the KCK case which she defined as a case of embarrassment. “They have been arrested because they stay out of PM’s protocol press”, Tuðluk added.
