US Speaks, at Last, About Arrests of Journalists in Turkey
I had my doubts about the appointment of Ambassador Ricciardone to Turkey. It did not seem to me Turkey needed a US ambassador who had been roundly criticized for failing to support democratizing elements in Egypt (and I think it's clear now why I saw that as a problem). I also note that in 2007 he declared Egypt a "rock of stability" in the region, suggesting a certain lack of aptitude for noticing what's really going on.
Nonetheless, I'm glad someone has finally, finally, made the decision that the US needs to speak out clearly about the arrest and detention of Turkish journalists. "Journalists," Ricciardone said,
are being detained on the one hand, while addresses about freedom of speech are given on the other. We do not understand this, so we ask you. ...
Turkey wants a free press. Turkish people want a critical press even if it is a dissident one. The opposition parties and the government say they support freedom of the press. We are following the process closely. Journalists are being detained on the one hand, while addresses about freedom of the speech are given on the other. We do not understand this. The Turkish people's opinion is important. But freedom of the press and freedom of speech are vital for Turkey, the United States and the people of this region.
Better late than never.
Western journalists, do please take note of what your Turkish counterparts are saying:
Hürriyet: Appeasement in Our Time:
Policy experts in Brussels, think tankers in Washington and scribes throughout the world’s media have all discovered the “Turkish model.” Alas, goes the theme, if the Arabs can just learn to be like the Turks: Muslim, Western-oriented and fully embracing Western standards of democracy – or at least trying.
We hope this same class of self-styled promoters of Turkish pluralism and tolerance are watching the unfolding of the latest assault on freedom of the press in Turkey: A raid on a web portal by the prosecutor in the much-discussed Ergenekon case, a supposed investigation into an alleged conspiracy to topple the government. ...
It will be tempting for the European Union, NATO allies and the Obama administration to wink at these blemishes. A bit of Chamberlain-style appeasement today promises dividends in the region down the road tomorrow. This will particularly be the case if promotion of the “Turkish model” takes on the policy imperative that so many are seeking. Some “model” indeed.
Radikal: Sunset is Now
If there really is freedom of the press in this country, a journalist should be treated like a journalist. If you detain every dissident correspondent, the name of the regime is not democracy but something else. Even if you do not think alike or think in opposite directions or don’t talk to each other for years, the freedom of journalists is the horizon of freedom in a society.
And seems it is sunset now.
Cumhuriyet: We are Being Silenced
Many governments in the Middle East have a terrible record regarding freedom of the press, but at least none of them claims to bring 'advanced democracy' to their countries like the AKP does in Turkey. While the protests in Egypt, Tunisia, Iran, Yemen, Algeria give hope to people sick and tired of authoritarian regimes, we, the Turks, are simply watching this fresh wave with envy. We don't say much because we are silenced. But don`t be fooled. Every people sooner or later will reclaim its freedom. We are just waiting for our turn.
Gazeteport: A Saddamesque "Republic of Fear"
This is the new Turkey for the U.S.A. This is the new reality. Writers and journalists hope President Obama and Secretary Clinton apply the same standards they held in the Egyptian revolution. More, not less freedom. On the streets and on the web.
Now, without in any way diminishing the outrages against Turkish journalists, there is some typically Turkish exaggeration going on here. Note that all of these columns were published, and as of this posting, none of the authors have been arrested. (Check back with me tomorrow.) This significantly distinguishes Turkey from Iraq under Saddam Hussein. But the assault on press freedom--real. The fear--real. The obligation of the West to speak out--real.
Lest I be accused of sampling only the anti-government press, here's the take from Zaman--23 of whose reporters also went before the judges yesterday:
Zaman daily Editor Ali Akkuş, who spoke to reporters about cases files against journalists, said the cases are aimed at silencing the media. “The cases do not conform with the norms of a country governed by the rule of law. Legal steps should be taken to prevent journalists from being punished with prison terms due to their professional duties,” he noted. Zaman News Editor Fatih Uğur complained that his staff spends most of their time in the corridors of courthouses instead of preparing news reports.
What, they're locking up their own supporters? Yes, they are! They're democratic that way. Mind you, some of the columnists at Zaman are of a dissenting view:
The remnants of the professionally bankrupt and ideologically polluted media now face a huge litmus test, and a hardening struggle for survival.
And then, of course, there's Vatan (translated and cited by Zaman):
There is a person in the Turkish press named Soner Yalçın who commits all kinds of lies, hypocrisies, sleaziness and dishonorable attacks in the name of ‘news’ to discredit people and their statements. ... People he does not like, who don’t serve his interests, whom he clashes with or whom he wants to intimidate are denigrated with false news on his website and are not allowed to speak out. ... I would like to ask Ertuğrul Özkök, who employs this person at Hürriyet daily as a ‘historian’ and never spared Yalçın his support: Is this your ethical standard in journalism, in family values, in lies and slander and in butchering a person’s honor? Does journalism, reporting and the freedom of press include respecting dishonesty? These false, hypocritical and discrediting stories are not a coincidence. ... ‘a certain set of dark groups’ in Turkey produce false and hypocrisy-filled news stories against people in the media who are in conflict with their interests, whom they want to intimidate and whose views they want to render worthless.
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Oct '10
Re: US Speaks, at Last, About Arrests of Journalists in Turkey
Francis Ricciardone was a former US Ambassador to the Philippines. He also spoke out against corruption in the Philippine Judiciary, which made news at that time.