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IN TURKEY, JOURNALISTS WORK WITH 'ONE EYE CLOSED'
The Toronto Star, Canada
May 24, 2014 Saturday
ISTANBUL
Turkey is facing a press freedom crisis.
The scope was first revealed a year ago during violent protests in
Taksim Square. Thirty journalists were hurt - and dozens were fired
- for covering anti-government demonstrations against the planned
destruction of a patch of green space known as Gezi Park.
Many reputable news outlets self-censored their coverage, afraid of
a backlash from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government. CNN
Turk infamously broadcast a lengthy documentary on penguins during the
height of the riots. The penguin became a symbol of media censorship.
Today, Erdogan is once again the subject of mass protests.
The Soma mining disaster, which killed 301 people, has sparked
demonstrations over lax mine safety. As with Taksim, police have
viciously cracked down on mourners and protesters with tear gas,
water cannons and batons.
The actions of some "free" Turkish media outlets during Taksim was
unacceptable, says Posta journalist Nedim Sener, who spent nearly a
year in jail without charges over stories about government corruption.
"If you are scared as a journalist, this isn't something you should be
doing," Sener says at his tidy desk at the Posta newsroom in Istanbul.
"If you say you are afraid you are just lowering yourself. There is
big public support for journalists who speak the truth."
Sener, an economics reporter, should know. He has been honoured
internationally for his commitment to protect the truth in Turkey
and he is revered by many of his colleagues for his bravery.
Sener was arrested in March 2011. He was conditionally released after
376 days in a tiny solitary cell that he describes as a "concrete
tomb." He still faces a sentence of another 15 years in jail.
There are currently 11 journalists in prison in Turkey - most charged
with being terrorists - down from 50 at the end of last year, says
the Committee to Protect Journalists, a non-profit organization based
in New York City.
It's a similar story in nearby Egypt, where three journalists -
including Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy - are currently behind bars.
Like Sener, they have been charged with being terrorists.
Sener spent years investigating the 2007 murder of his friend Hrant
Dink, the managing editor of the bi-weekly Turkish-Armenian paper Agos.
After Sener published a book on Dink's assassination in 2009,
he was charged by Turkish authorities for "revealing secrets" and
"attempting to influence a trial," according to the Committee to
Protect Journalists.
While those charges were dismissed in 2010, officials soon came after
Sener once more, accusing him of being a terrorist sympathetic to a
group supposedly plotting to overthrow the government.
"The fight between the allies makes the truth come forward," says
the tall, soft-spoken Sener.
Turkey is one of the most restrictive countries in the world to be a
journalist. For instance, if you cover a story about terrorism, it is
akin to aiding terrorists, says the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Turkish journalists worry that officials are listening to their phone
conversations and monitoring their emails.
The level of secrecy and control was apparent at the end of March
during regional elections. To stop chatter about leaked recordings of
government officials, Erdogan banned Twitter and shut down YouTube;
Internet access became intermittent. The Twitter ban was lifted
April 3 by Turkey's constitutional court, but Erdogan would like it
reinstated. YouTube is still blocked.
"There are no secrets in Turkey," one journalist told me. "They want
you to report with one eye closed."
The government's apparent persecution of journalists also extends to
the lawyers who defend them.
Istanbul lawyer Fehmi Hasanoglu was fired by NTV, one of Turkey's most
prestigious news networks, after his boss got a call from authorities
demanding he and the other lawyers be let go for resisting government
instructions.
"I'm happy I was fired," he says. "At this moment I wouldn't want to
be representing a TV channel."
Hasanoglu says when Erdogan's AK Party was first elected in 2002,
people hoped the government would strengthen Turkey's democracy.
"They gave us hope for democracy and freedom for the people. I am
a socialist-based person and for most of the socialists, we somehow
believed him.
"But when someone gets power, he forgets democracy and becomes a
dictator," says Hasanoglu, airing his views at an Istanbul cafe.
Turkey has restrictive defamation laws and it is against the law to
insult the government or its institutions.
Hasanoglu was fired along with three other lawyers at the network. He
lost his job on Jan. 4, 2012.
"I wasn't at the channel that day. I was in court. When I was finished
I phoned another lawyer and said, 'It is late now, do you need me
there? Should I come to the channel?' And she said, 'There is no need
for you today, or tomorrow or the next day after that.' I asked why
and she said, 'We are all fired.' "
GRAPHIC: "When someone gets power, he forgets democracy and becomes a
dictator," says Istanbul lawyer Fehmi Hasanoglu. "There is big public
support for journalists who speak the truth," says Nedim Sener,
a reporter for Istanbul's Posta newspaper. Sener was arrested and
charged with being a terrorist for reporting on government corruption.
A journalist is hit by a water cannon during an anti-government
demonstration in Istanbul in May. Turkey is one of most restrictive
countries in the world to be a journalist. Tanya Talaga/Toronto Star
Tanya Talaga/Toronto Star OZAN KOSE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
The Toronto Star, Canada
May 24, 2014 Saturday
ISTANBUL
Turkey is facing a press freedom crisis.
The scope was first revealed a year ago during violent protests in
Taksim Square. Thirty journalists were hurt - and dozens were fired
- for covering anti-government demonstrations against the planned
destruction of a patch of green space known as Gezi Park.
Many reputable news outlets self-censored their coverage, afraid of
a backlash from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government. CNN
Turk infamously broadcast a lengthy documentary on penguins during the
height of the riots. The penguin became a symbol of media censorship.
Today, Erdogan is once again the subject of mass protests.
The Soma mining disaster, which killed 301 people, has sparked
demonstrations over lax mine safety. As with Taksim, police have
viciously cracked down on mourners and protesters with tear gas,
water cannons and batons.
The actions of some "free" Turkish media outlets during Taksim was
unacceptable, says Posta journalist Nedim Sener, who spent nearly a
year in jail without charges over stories about government corruption.
"If you are scared as a journalist, this isn't something you should be
doing," Sener says at his tidy desk at the Posta newsroom in Istanbul.
"If you say you are afraid you are just lowering yourself. There is
big public support for journalists who speak the truth."
Sener, an economics reporter, should know. He has been honoured
internationally for his commitment to protect the truth in Turkey
and he is revered by many of his colleagues for his bravery.
Sener was arrested in March 2011. He was conditionally released after
376 days in a tiny solitary cell that he describes as a "concrete
tomb." He still faces a sentence of another 15 years in jail.
There are currently 11 journalists in prison in Turkey - most charged
with being terrorists - down from 50 at the end of last year, says
the Committee to Protect Journalists, a non-profit organization based
in New York City.
It's a similar story in nearby Egypt, where three journalists -
including Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy - are currently behind bars.
Like Sener, they have been charged with being terrorists.
Sener spent years investigating the 2007 murder of his friend Hrant
Dink, the managing editor of the bi-weekly Turkish-Armenian paper Agos.
After Sener published a book on Dink's assassination in 2009,
he was charged by Turkish authorities for "revealing secrets" and
"attempting to influence a trial," according to the Committee to
Protect Journalists.
While those charges were dismissed in 2010, officials soon came after
Sener once more, accusing him of being a terrorist sympathetic to a
group supposedly plotting to overthrow the government.
"The fight between the allies makes the truth come forward," says
the tall, soft-spoken Sener.
Turkey is one of the most restrictive countries in the world to be a
journalist. For instance, if you cover a story about terrorism, it is
akin to aiding terrorists, says the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Turkish journalists worry that officials are listening to their phone
conversations and monitoring their emails.
The level of secrecy and control was apparent at the end of March
during regional elections. To stop chatter about leaked recordings of
government officials, Erdogan banned Twitter and shut down YouTube;
Internet access became intermittent. The Twitter ban was lifted
April 3 by Turkey's constitutional court, but Erdogan would like it
reinstated. YouTube is still blocked.
"There are no secrets in Turkey," one journalist told me. "They want
you to report with one eye closed."
The government's apparent persecution of journalists also extends to
the lawyers who defend them.
Istanbul lawyer Fehmi Hasanoglu was fired by NTV, one of Turkey's most
prestigious news networks, after his boss got a call from authorities
demanding he and the other lawyers be let go for resisting government
instructions.
"I'm happy I was fired," he says. "At this moment I wouldn't want to
be representing a TV channel."
Hasanoglu says when Erdogan's AK Party was first elected in 2002,
people hoped the government would strengthen Turkey's democracy.
"They gave us hope for democracy and freedom for the people. I am
a socialist-based person and for most of the socialists, we somehow
believed him.
"But when someone gets power, he forgets democracy and becomes a
dictator," says Hasanoglu, airing his views at an Istanbul cafe.
Turkey has restrictive defamation laws and it is against the law to
insult the government or its institutions.
Hasanoglu was fired along with three other lawyers at the network. He
lost his job on Jan. 4, 2012.
"I wasn't at the channel that day. I was in court. When I was finished
I phoned another lawyer and said, 'It is late now, do you need me
there? Should I come to the channel?' And she said, 'There is no need
for you today, or tomorrow or the next day after that.' I asked why
and she said, 'We are all fired.' "
GRAPHIC: "When someone gets power, he forgets democracy and becomes a
dictator," says Istanbul lawyer Fehmi Hasanoglu. "There is big public
support for journalists who speak the truth," says Nedim Sener,
a reporter for Istanbul's Posta newspaper. Sener was arrested and
charged with being a terrorist for reporting on government corruption.
A journalist is hit by a water cannon during an anti-government
demonstration in Istanbul in May. Turkey is one of most restrictive
countries in the world to be a journalist. Tanya Talaga/Toronto Star
Tanya Talaga/Toronto Star OZAN KOSE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES