The Justice and Development Party (AKP)–Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) government is attempting to eliminate pluralism in journalism through pressure, censorship, and arbitrary detentions, using the judiciary under its control as a tool. Moving in the opposite direction of its claims of “democracy” and “rule of law,” the increasingly authoritarian government has launched silencing operations against the free and socialist press under the pretext of “organization propaganda or membership.” It has censored opposition media outlets on social media and used the so-called “disinformation law” as a sword of Damocles, detaining journalists one by one, while simultaneously imposing centrally driven disinformation to reshape and control society. Turgut Dedeoğlu, General President of the Revolutionary Workers’ Unions Confederation Press Workers’ Union (DISK Basin-Iş), spoke to ANF and said that “The political power is trying to portray journalism as a criminal activity.”
Free press makes truth visible
Turgut Dedeoğlu summarized the growing pressure on the press by saying, “The government holds a stick in its hand like the sword of Damocles and constantly swings it over journalists’ heads.” Dedeoğlu underlined that journalism, whether it pleases those in power or not, is responsible for informing the public accurately and continued: “If it were not for free press journalist Abdurrahman Gök, we would not have known or seen how a young man named Kemal Kurkut was killed during the 2017 Newroz. With the photographs he took that day, Abdurrahman Gök conveyed the truth to the public; he received an award but was also imprisoned by the state. Likewise, if journalist Nazim Daştan, who was killed together with his colleague Cihan Bilgin while covering news in Rojava, Syria, had not existed, we would not have learned that Taybet Inan was killed in Silopi during the curfew period and that her body was left in the streets for days. Or most recently, if journalist Hatice Duman from a prison magazine group had not been reported on by Pınar Gayıp, how would we have known that a journalist had been imprisoned for 30 years? Without the reports produced by journalists, we would struggle to grasp the truth in this country.”
17 of 40 journalists imprisoned for their work
Turgut Dedeoğlu drew attention to the fact that 17 out of 40 journalists currently held in prisons in Turkey are imprisoned due to their journalistic activities. Dedeoğlu said: “According to the list we prepared as DISK Basin-Iş, there are currently 40 journalists in prison, but 17 of them have been jailed directly for practicing journalism, for delivering accurate information to the public. These journalist colleagues are not those who act according to the spirit of the times, but those who practice their profession according to the truth, and for this reason they are consistently criminalized by the state, the government, and the judiciary under accusations such as ‘membership in an organization’ or other pretexts.”
There are ‘acceptable’ and ‘targeted’ journalists
Dedeoğlu said that in Turkey there are “acceptable” journalists and “targeted” journalists, emphasizing that those considered acceptable by the state are supported, while those seen as dangerous are either killed or imprisoned. He stated that journalists have been killed since 1908 and continued: “When we count the journalists killed during the 1915 Armenian genocide, we actually double the lists prepared by associations. There are hundreds of journalists. In the following years, many journalists, from Abdi Ipekci and Ugur Mumcu to Musa Anter and Hrant Dink, were killed in the same way. Most recently, Kurdish journalists Cihan Bilgin and Nazim Dastan were killed in a drone strike in Syria while on their way to report. Yet the real perpetrators behind all these killings have consistently been protected through impunity. We know why our journalist colleagues were killed. But if we, as journalists, openly state or write who the perpetrators are, we are arrested. Even protesting their killings becomes grounds for detention. Most recently, journalists who protested the killing of Nazim Dastan and Cihan Bilgin were arrested simply for carrying photos of their murdered colleagues. Under these conditions, can we speak of press freedom and freedom of expression? Absolutely not. Because if there were press and freedom of expression in a country, we as journalists should be able to clearly state who killed Cihan and Nazim. As part of freedom of expression, citizens should also be able to say that they know the perpetrator. Since neither journalists nor the public can openly express this truth, it means that there is neither press freedom nor freedom of expression in this country.”
The biggest mistake was ours; we should not have made that first concession
Dedeoğlu emphasized that both journalism organizations and journalists themselves bear significant responsibility for reaching this point and said: “We should not have made that first concession. Starting in 1908, we made that concession with Armenian journalists, and later with Kurdish journalists and distributors. We should not have done that. We said, ‘They are Armenians, nothing will happen,’ ‘They are Kurds, nothing will happen.’ Now it is the turn of those who define themselves as ‘White Turks,’ those living in this geography, those living in the west. Now we are starting to feel the pain. But if we had thought about those who were suffering back then, if we had struggled for them, we would not be suffering today. Has it come too late? Now we must draw lessons from this. Especially journalism organizations must learn from this experience.”
Nearly 500 press organizations exist, but they are ineffective in practice
Turgut Dedeoğlu said: “In our profession in Turkey, there are nearly 500 organizations, associations, unions, and press bodies. There is an association in every city. There are also parallel associations opposing those associations. There are separate associations close to the political power. There are confederations bringing these together. All of them are part of the press field. But these nearly 500 press organizations, associations, and unions are ineffective in practice because they have comfort zones and do not want to give them up. Yet our duty is to stand by journalists. Most of these journalists are members of DISK Basin-Is. Even those who are not members, we consider honorary members and defend them as such everywhere. For us, all journalists who face injustice and unlawfulness are our members, even if they belong to another union or association. We exist for them. As DISK Basin-Is, our priority is to ensure that journalists can carry out their profession properly in this anti-democratic environment. Today, when a Kurdish journalist or a socialist journalist is detained or arrested in Ankara or Istanbul, unfortunately we do not see these 500 professional organizations standing with us when statements are made. Why do we not see them? Because some associations receive funding from the state. They hold award ceremonies, give awards, organize competitions. As long as these associations survive on funds from state institutions and banks, they refrain from opposing this system. That is the whole issue. Because the funds would be cut. They exist only on paper. I liken the situation of these associations to the definition of press freedom in the constitution. It begins by saying ‘the press is free, but…’ These associations are the same, and some of these unions are the same. There is always a ‘but.’ The approach is: ‘The press is free, but we do not have the courage to defend their rights.’ They must abandon this approach as soon as possible.”
If we act together, we can easily break the walls
Turgut Dedeoğlu stressed that journalists should not be divided into “my journalist” and “your journalist,” and said that limiting slogans and statements at last Sunday’s protest in Kadıköy for imprisoned journalists to only Ismail Arı, Merdan Yanardağ, and Alican Uludağ was a major shortcoming. Dedeoğlu recalled that results can be achieved when acting collectively against injustice and rights violations and continued: “We forced a step back on the ‘foreign agent’ law. Likewise, the General Directorate of Security’s circular banning ‘audio and video recording’ was annulled by the Council of State after collective reaction, on the grounds that it was unlawful. If we act together, we can also force a step back on the ‘disinformation’ law. Our problem is the absence of a locomotive. We have many pulling forces, but because they pull in different directions, we cannot move forward. What is needed is to reduce this to a single locomotive. By locomotive, I do not mean there should be only one union or only one press organization, but that they should show the same will. Because only if we act together with the same determination can we easily break the wall placed before us. We saw the latest example of this on March 19, when university students broke through police barricades, and in the determination of women resisting blockades on March 8 and November 25. If intellectuals and society were as courageous as women, we would establish a democratic order in this country. Because of this increasingly authoritarian political power, it is not possible to draft democratic laws or a constitution. If such a constitution were to be made, it would be even more repressive than the September 12 military constitution. The responsibility lies with all of us. Because this political power now portrays journalism as a crime. For this reason, we will not lose hope, and we will expand the struggle.”
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