Reaction from PGD and TGC to MHP's statements targeting journalists: 'We invite them to abandon their wrong stance'

The Progressive Journalists Association (PGD) has reacted to statements by MHP figures that target journalists.

MHP Deputy Chairmen Semih Yalçın and Feti Yıldız targeted certain media outlets and journalists by name in their statements regarding the murder of former Ülkü Ocakları President Sinan Ateş in Ankara and the meetings of AKP President Tayyip Erdoğan with opposition political party leaders.

In a statement made on PGD's social media account, the situation was criticized and an appeal was made to politicians. The PGD called on political figures to abandon this stance, which threatens the safety of journalists.

The PGD's statement is as follows:

"Threatening journalists by politicians has recently become almost a tradition. Most recently, the statement made by the MHP, which named certain media outlets and journalists and made them targets, is a dangerous and unacceptable stance.

We invite politicians to abandon this wrong stance and we reiterate once again that we are against any approach that threatens the safety of journalists!"

The Journalists Association of Turkey (TGC) also strongly criticized the statements by MHP figures targeting journalists.

Statement from the TGC:

"If politicians do not act responsibly, a new murder of a journalist is only a matter of time. Representatives of the government and the opposition should begin normalization efforts by condemning those who threaten journalists and paving the way for their punishment.

In countries governed by democracy, politicians protect the life and job security of journalists so that all citizens, whether they voted for them or not, can be informed. In our country, however, some politicians who consider themselves exempt from the law threaten and target journalists and their institutions by name. Despite the fact that it has been clearly revealed that the individuals who attacked journalists in front of their homes and workplaces, causing them to be hospitalized in intensive care, are employed by certain parties, no punishment has been imposed.

The law exists for the safety of every citizen living in this country. Party officials and members of parliament are not exempt from the law. It is a crime for politicians to threaten journalists. We condemn politicians who have made it a habit to threaten journalists. If representatives of the government and the opposition want normalization in terms of democracy, they must start by standing against the targeting of and attacks on journalists, condemning them, and paving the way for their punishment.

We also remind the Ministry of Interior that threatening journalists is a crime and we demand that the safety of our colleagues who have been targeted be ensured. We wish our targeted colleagues a speedy recovery."

WHAT HAD HE SAID?

Semih Yalçın said in his written statement, "Media organizations that market their screens to leftist journalists such as Halk TV, TV 100, and Sözcü TV; ensure that MHP-opposing types like Barış Yarkadaş, Bahar Feyzan, Ali Kemal Erdem, and Osman Sert attack our party by bringing them on screen. Journalist Abdülkadir Selvi, whose subconscious is coded with MHP hostility, also voluntarily joins the MHP-opposing choir from time to time due to his nature and character.

Selvi, who represents a unique version of sedition and mischief in the media, moves between sides like a live bomb ready to explode. Selvi is not with those whose conscience bleeds, but with those whose morality bleeds," he had said.

News Source: 12punto