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Europeans Criticize Turkey Over Threats To Media Freedoms

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  • Europeans Criticize Turkey Over Threats To Media Freedoms

    EUROPEANS CRITICIZE TURKEY OVER THREATS TO MEDIA FREEDOMS
    STEPHEN CASTLE and SEBNEM ARSU

    New York Times
    October 14, 2009

    BRUSSELS -- European officials gave Turkey new warnings on Wednesday
    over threats to freedom of expression in the country as part of an
    annual progress report on its efforts to join the European Union.

    Skip to next paragraph Related Times Topics: Turkey

    The European enlargement commissioner, Olli Rehn, in particular
    criticized the Turkish tax ministry's recent move to impose a fine of
    5.7 billion liras -- roughly $3.9 billion -- on the country's biggest
    media conglomerate, Dogan Yayin, whose affiliates and ownership have
    been critical of the governing party. The government reiterated on
    Wednesday that the issue was purely a tax matter, but Mr. Rehn argued
    that it seemed politically motivated.

    "If a tax fine is worth the annual turnover of the company," he said,
    "it is quite a strong sanction, and it may not only be a fiscal
    sanction but also it feels like a political sanction."

    Mr. Rehn also criticized efforts to take legal action against
    journalists and writers, including the Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk. And
    the report listed Turkey's refusal to open its ports to vessels from
    Cyprus, a European government that Turkey does not recognize because
    of a longstanding territorial dispute over the island, as a continuing
    factor hurting Turkey's efforts to join.

    In general, the progress report, composed by the European Commission
    and including assessments of seven Balkan nations also seeking to join
    the European Union, did not close the door on Turkish membership. It
    praised several developments over the past year, including government
    efforts to end decades of hostilities with Armenia and open borders,
    and to ease tensions with the Kurdish minority in Turkey.

    The Turkish minister in charge of negotiations with Europe, Egemen
    Bagis, called the reports a balanced document and said that the
    detailed nature of the criticism was a good sign for Turkey.

    "The precis oach in the comments show that Turkey has entered an
    advanced phase in negotiations," he said. "It tells us to keep up
    the good work, and continue with reforms, a message that we will be
    following in future."

    Still, the public criticism underlined the fragility of Turkey's
    efforts to join. France's and Germany's outspoken opposition to full
    membership for Turkey have raised doubts both in Europe and within
    Turkey itself that a deal can be reached any time soon.

    Sinan Ulgen, chairman of the Center for Economic and Foreign Policy
    Studies, an Istanbul-based research group, said that the European
    Commission appeared to be putting a positive gloss on the talks to
    try to keep the process alive.

    "There has been a conscious effort on the part of the commission to
    appear a bit more positive than the situation warrants," he said,
    "in view of the fact that there is a lot of opposition in Europe
    about Turkish accession."

    Mr. Ulgen added that France's opposition, in particular, has given
    "the impression in Turkey that no matter what we do we will never
    get to the E.U."

    Stephen Castle reported from Brussels, and Sebnem Arsu from Bursa,
    Turkey.
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