Reaction to pressures from the Journalists Association of Turkey!

The following views were included in the statement made by the TGC:

“Everyone has the right to access information, receive news, express thoughts, and engage in free criticism. Freedom of the press and broadcasting, which is the primary way of exercising freedom of thought and expression, is a fundamental human right. It is essential that these rights are under Constitutional guarantee in a democratic state of law.

However, in Turkey, quite the opposite is happening, and the obstacles to freedom of the press and expression continue to increase. In every event that shakes society, the first step taken is the agenda of unfair detentions and arrests of journalists. To these have been added heavy pressures regarding news about the trustees appointed to local administrations.

Most recently, following the appointment of a trustee to the Batman Municipality, the office of the Batman Sonsöz Newspaper, which was following the developments, was raided by security forces and reporter Serhat Aslan was detained. Our colleague was later released. We wish our colleague a speedy recovery. Journalism is not a crime. We demand an end to the targeting, unfair detentions, and arrests of journalists who report on the government's activities that are not in the public interest.

APPOINTING TRUSTEES TO ASSOCIATIONS IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Furthermore, the trustee practice has initiated a new period of rights violations against press professional organizations. Most recently, a trustee was appointed to the Turkish Sports Writers Association (TSYD). The measure constituting this heavy intervention in TSYD bodies should have been the last resort. According to Articles 13 and 33 of the Constitution and the Law on Associations, appointing trustees to associations, which are one of the most important democratic pillars of freedom of organization, means a severe limitation on fundamental rights and freedoms and a violation of rights.

We do not accept the appointment of trustees to associations that operate within the principles of a democratic social order, the Constitution, and the laws, and we believe that the sanction should be withdrawn immediately. The Journalists Association of Turkey will continue to work with all its might today, as it did yesterday, to remove all obstacles to the limitation of rights and freedoms, freedom of organization, and freedom of the press and expression."

News Source: 12punto