DİSK Basın-İş: 'We are not celebrating January 10 Working Journalists Day'

On the occasion of January 10 Working Journalists Day, DİSK Basın-İş invited all media members to fight against censorship. In the statement, it was stated, "We are not celebrating January 10 Working Journalists Day; we are calling all our colleagues to struggle."

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DİSK Basın-İş: 'We are not celebrating January 10 Working Journalists Day'

12punto.com.tr

Every year in our country, January 10 is celebrated as Working Journalists Day.

DİSK Basın-İş released a press statement for January 10 Working Journalists Day. The statement emphasized the importance of press freedom.

The arbitrary detention of media members, the effects of the economic crisis on the media sector, and job security were also addressed.

The full text of the statement is as follows:

"We are once again welcoming January 10 Working Journalists Day with a dark picture in terms of press freedom. Unfortunately, we do not see today as a day of celebration, but as an occasion to show solidarity with our colleagues who are held captive in prisons, especially our imprisoned member Dicle Müftüoğlu, and to further grow the struggle we are waging for press freedom.

The impact of the economic crisis and increasing political polarization are deepening the crisis in the media sector in Turkey, where the minimum wage has become the standard wage, with each passing day. While no approach or legislation that would allow press and freedom of expression to breathe is being put forward by the government, no work is being done regarding the personal rights, job security, and welfare levels of journalists either.

While attacks such as the arbitrary obstruction, detention, physical violence, threats, and targeting of journalists working in the field by law enforcement continue; the freedom of imprisoned journalists is being usurped through indictments prepared with fabricated grounds and baseless trials.

Journalists who perform a public duty by upholding the public's right to receive and report news are being tried on the grounds of the Turkish Penal Code, the Anti-Terror Law, the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations, and the Law on the Prevention of Financing of Terrorism.

The number of journalists against whom investigations have been launched on the grounds of "spreading misleading information to the public," which is defined as a crime in the Censorship Law passed by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) under the pretext of "combating disinformation," is increasing day by day.

While this is the situation in Turkey, journalists around the world, from Rojava to Karabakh, and from Ukraine to Palestine, are working while risking death.

That is why we know that press freedom cannot be protected without protecting journalists who lack job security, are deprived of professional solidarity, and become vulnerable to all kinds of pressure by feeling the deepening economic crisis in every area of their lives.

We will not remain silent against attacks on press freedom and journalists, we will protect our profession against the portrayal of news and journalism as a 'potential crime and criminal,' and we will continue to fight for the media to be seen as one of the fundamental elements that facilitate the public's participation in democracy.

We will organize with all our colleagues who chase the truth and remain committed only to the facts, we will wage a union struggle, and we will walk side by side.

Long live class solidarity, long live the free press!"

News Source: 12punto