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Turkey continues to muzzle democracys watchdogs

By Noam Chomsky and Christophe Deloire

The Washington Post, November 12, 2015

Journalists are the watchdogs of democracy, according to the European Court of Human Rights.
Anyone who wants to control a country without being troubled by criticism tries to muzzle
reporters, and unfortunately, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a past master at stifling
the cries of freedom. As journalists from around the world converge on Antalya to cover this
weekends Group of 20 summit, many of their Turkish colleagues are being denied accreditation.

Sidelining opposition media has become a bad habit in Turkey, which is ranked 149th out of 180
countries in the latest Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index. Four days before
the Nov. 1 parliamentary elections, the police stormed Ipek Media Group headquarters and shut
down its two opposition dailies and two opposition TV stations. After control of management had
been secured and 71 journalists fired, these outlets resumed operations with a new editorial line
verging on caricature. The dailies, Bugun and Millet, ran Erdogans photo on the front page along
with the headlines The president among the people and Turkey united.

Journalism is being murdered. The fact that the AKP, the ruling party for the past 13 years,
recovered an absolute majority in parliament has not sufficed to halt the oppression. Two days
after the elections, two journalists were jailed on charges of inciting an armed revolt against the
state in a story. Since then, some 30 other journalists have been placed under investigation for
terrorist propaganda or insulting the president the two most common charges.

On Nov. 17, 18 editors and publishers will go on trial for terrorist propaganda because of a
photograph. They face up to 7 years in prison. One of these journalists, Cumhuriyet editor Can
Dundar , already stood accused of spying by Erdogan, who has vowed that Dundar wont get
away with it. His paper published evidence that Syriabound trucks leased by Turkeys National
Intelligence Organization had, as suspected, been carrying arms.

For years, the growing concentration of media ownership in the hands of government allies has
eroded pluralism and encouraged selfcensorship. The authorities have also reined in the Internet.
Following draconian reforms, the blocking of Web sites has become systematic. Turkey is
responsible for more than twothirds of the requests to Twitter to remove content. The
government does not hesitate to block the entire YouTube platform.

These practices compound problems inherited from the years of military rule: laws restricting
freedom of expression, a judicial culture centered on defense of the state and impunity for police
violence. The metastasizing Syrian conflict and the resumption of fighting with Kurdish rebels
have accentuated governmental paranoia about critical journalists. Far from defusing political

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and communal tension, the accelerating censorship and aggressive government rhetoric have
sharpened it. Demonstrators egged on by the governments discourse attacked the Istanbul
headquarters of the daily Hurriyet twice in early September.

The G20s leaders must take stock of the course on which their host has embarked. They need a
stable Turkey to help limit the spread of the Syrian chaos and to guarantee its peoples security
and prosperity. The Turkish government must stop fueling tension and, for this, it is essential that
the truth can be told. Reopening the space for democratic debate is essential for stabilizing the
country. Freedom of information is part of the solution.

CHOMSKY.INFO

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