US Ambassador's Comments on Turkish Press Freedom Inspire AKP Comic Genius
Who knew the AKP had such a sense of humor? They've had Turkey in hysterics since Ambassador Ricciardone finally pointed out what everyone in Turkey knows--that quite some number of Turkish journalists have been arrested. You can, by the way, read a long article I wrote several months ago about this situation here:
When Western journalists note in a casual aside that press freedom has experienced certain setbacks under the AKP, they are failing to do justice to the severity of this calamity and its ramifications for Turkey and the region. The calamity is exacerbated by the tendency of the foreign media to repeat, without scrutiny, the very idiocies peddled in the Turkish press, where the range of opinion on offer has become severely limited. The result is the growth of a grossly distorted and dangerous consensus about Turkey, here and abroad — to wit, that Turkey under the AKP has become more democratic and politically healthier, even if it is a bit up the duff with Islamism.
As you see, this is nothing new. Anyway, Riccardione, rather mildly, declared that the United States was "trying to make sense" of the arrests of journalists. I discussed the most recent arrests here on Ricochet. I said in that post what I thought the West should do about it:
What should the West do? It should say something. It should stand up for the values of a free press and an independent judiciary. It should stand against endless pretrial detentions on political grounds. It should make its case for this confidently. It should argue that free, robust and independent institutions ultimately serve ordinary people, as opposed to whichever elite happens that day to be in power. It should say, "We know what is happening here and it is not in the interests of the people of Turkey."
I am certain the State Department is well aware what's going on here. They know that this is very bad. They say in private that they don't know what to do about it.
But it's so simple: Say what you really think. Say it, Madame Secretary, just say it! It's not as if you're going to be arrested in a pre-dawn raid.
I don't know whether the State Department was listening to me, but they did the right thing. Let me explain why it matters. It matters because Riccardione's comments, tepid though they were, told journalists in Turkey: You are not alone. You have not been forgotten. We notice and we care. When your government is telling all who will listen, "Two plus two equals five," to hear someone say, "No, they don't, they make four" is worth the world. It also puts those doing the arresting on notice: "You're reaching the limit--you're not going to be believed, internationally, when you insist you're the party of 'increased democracy' if you keep locking up journalists. We don't do that in democracies." (I am using the word "democracy" in the Sharansky sense--as a system that involves not just elections, but the institutions of liberty.)
The AKP's response? It speaks for itself, but it's also--chapeau!--comic genius:
“Ambassadors cannot interfere in domestic issues. They have limits,” Hüseyin Çelik, the deputy leader and spokesman for the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, told reporters Wednesday. “Whether this is the U.S. or the Russian ambassador, they have to adhere to the limits.”
Note: Pretty much every time you hear a government go berserk because someone is "interfering in its domestic issues," there's a human-rights abuse involved. Have you noticed that?
But here's where it gets good: Then the Interior Minister, Beşir Atalay, declared that in fact, Turkey has more press freedom than America:
“Turkey in terms of press freedom is much more independent a country than America. … Turkey is a country where there is more press freedom than other democratic countries,” Atalay said in response to remarks by newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Frank Ricciardone and U.S. State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley.
As a bonus, he suggested that we should simply understand the AKP's policy as environmentally-friendly:
Atalay also said there was no problem with expressing views in Turkey, and police intervened in demonstrations or protests from time to time just because the demonstrators harmed the environment and staged illegal demonstrations.
And the best part is this: Turkish PM calls US envoy a 'rookie' ambassador:
He does not know Turkey, he does not have any idea what laws there are, and then he walks into a trap and makes a statement. First wait, research, ask what it is, and learn what the judiciary will do on this, what will be the outcome. [Not doing] this is called a ‘rookie’ ambassador, this is inexperience,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told his party members Friday.
“Is there any article in the Constitution bringing immunity to members of the press, of which we are not aware?” Erdoğan asked. “Are media organizations exempt from everything, exempt from tax, exempt from all sorts of crime? Can they not be interrogated, tried?”
Addressing Ricciardone, the prime minister said some outsiders believed these things and talked about them, “even if it was not their duty.”
By the way, it is perfectly true that the Soner Yalçın, who was arrested in the recent raids, is an anti-Semitic loon. The government-friendly media is pointing this out, and they're not wrong; indeed, they couldn't be more right. They also note that journalists are being arrested, nominally, not on charges that they've criticized the government, but on charges that they've conspired with coup-plotters or subverted the law in some other fashion. Generally also true. They also note that many journalists were locked up (or murdered) before the AKP came to power--absolutely also true. And they note that the Turkish press is irresponsible and partisan: True, true, true.
It doesn't matter. It's no excuse. Too many journalists in Turkey are being sued, prosecuted and locked up. The numbers speak for themselves--thousands upon thousands. The government is billing itself around the world as the way forward--the antidote to Turkish authoritarianism and the model for Islamic democracy. A country with that many journalists in court just cannot credibly make this claim.
- Comment (4)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (3)
Comments :
May '10
Re: US Ambassador's Comments on Turkish Press Freedom Inspire AKP Comic Genius
"I think that's sort of bad"
"Quit interfering in our domestic affairs! Rookie!"
Have I ever thanked you for letting me know about this Qardawi guy? If not for you, I would've just blown it off with a whatev. Knowing the guy now, things take on a much deeper meaning. Often, I hear people say "I wanted to respond to that Claire thread, but I'd sound stupid." Sounding stupid is what I do.
You provide an indispensible service, O Mighty Queen.
May '10
Re: US Ambassador's Comments on Turkish Press Freedom Inspire AKP Comic Genius
Fascinating, Claire. Thanks for the updates.
Edited on Feb 19, 2011 at 8:28amRe: US Ambassador's Comments on Turkish Press Freedom Inspire AKP Comic Genius
Kennedy Smith: "I think that's sort of bad"
"Quit interfering in our domestic affairs! Rookie!"
Have I ever thanked you for letting me know about this Qardawi guy? If not for you, I would've just blown it off with a whatev. Knowing the guy now, things take on a much deeper meaning. Often, I hear people say "I wanted to respond to that Claire thread, but I'd sound stupid." Sounding stupid is what I do.
You provide an indispensible service, O Mighty Queen. · Feb 19 at 6:50am
I'm very glad to know that. By the way, I don't think I've ever read a Ricochet comment thread and thought, "How stupid." I'm usually immensely impressed by the collective knowledge and thoughtfulness of our members--as are all the editors; I know this for a fact. We're always swelling with pride about it.
May '10
Re: US Ambassador's Comments on Turkish Press Freedom Inspire AKP Comic Genius
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
I'm very glad to know that. By the way, I don't think I've ever read a Ricochet comment thread and thought, "How stupid." · Feb 19 at 8:43am
What never? (I say, in a Mark Steyn singing voice), then you say "No, never!" At which point I repeat the "what, never?" and you hedge with "weellll, hardly ever!"
Hardly Ever Stupid.