5 Dec 2016 | News and features, Turkey, Turkey Uncensored
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Turkey Uncensored is an Index on Censorship project to publish a series of articles from censored Turkish writers, artists and translators.
This is the second instalment of Ece Temelkuran’s periodic diary of developments in Turkey’s age of emergency rule.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]23 November: The women around me are more alert to the Turkey’s situation than the men are. The comfortable male universe is full of denial encased in a constantly refreshed argument: “It cannot go on like this; this is not sustainable.” And my reiterated response to this denial: “What will stop it?” There are neither domestic nor international limits to the resident’s ambitions. While the world is rightly horrified by the jailing of writers and journalists, the objections fall on the president’s deaf ears. Turkey’s opposition is spent, its strength consumed by endless court appearances. A handful of lawyers are trying to catch their breath while running between courtrooms to represent or witness the trials of Turks caught up in the witch hunt that swept the nation in the wake of the failed 15 July coup.
24 November: Just another day in a land of insanity. The EU Parliament announced its decision to freeze Turkey’s accession talks due to the government’s suppression. Three soldiers were killed by a Syrian jet, interestingly on the anniversary of Turkish jets bringing down a Russian plane last year. There was no news due to the traditional news ban so we don’t know if there will be a war tomorrow. And Ahmet Türk, the most prominent and dovish figure of Kurdish politics was jailed. He is 74 years old. Turkish lira dipped to a new record.
On the streets, the humour is in accordance with the insanity: “Make Turkey so-so again!”
25 November: Castro dies. As with everything else, this also becomes a subject of dispute between opposition and government supporters. Nothing can escape being the object of polarisation in the country. After some people say goodbye to Castro on social media, government supporters revolt: “How can you support a dictator?” If the partisanship can make you defend child rapists, which happened recently due to a child abuse case in a government-affiliated charity foundation, it can make you do anything.
26 November: President Erdogan is threatening the European Union. “We will open the borders for refugees and you will see,” he says. His reckless statements are on one side, Europe’s ethical failure about refugees on the other. Erdogan now seems to be the bull abducting Europa. As the fundamentals of Western civilisation and democratic values come to pieces, the bulls around the globe find their way to the top.
One perfect Balkan noir scene at a Zagreb cafe. At each table there is a grumpy old man reading a newspaper while the young waiter plays high volume Riders on the Storm at high volume. He asks where I am from. “Oh Istanbul! Never been there,” he says. I smile. “Go before it is too late.” He smiles back with sarcasm: “I am from Bosnia. Everywhere is too late.” Maybe true. Maybe it’s a bulls’ world now.
27 November: I was avoiding this piece of news for two days. I have finally read it. A nine-year-old girl died of a heart attack because she couldn’t take the pressure of facing her rapist during her hearing in court. One friend asked: “Why have the men all of sudden became so evil in this country?” My answer is “Because they can!” When the rule of law is damaged and basic human values are shaken, they can. And we, stunned like a beaten dog, just murmur: “It cannot go on like this.” But it does.
28 November: Came to Copenhagen for NewXChange, the meeting point for the world of journalism. I will be speaking in a panel with the title Are we out of Touch? Well, Trump is tweeting: “CNN is so embarrassed by their total (100%) support of Hillary Clinton, and yet her loss in a landslide, they won’t know what to do.” He knows that attacking established media will get him more points than anyone can imagine. While talking about Operation Euphrates Shield president Erdogan said: “We entered Syria for nothing else but to end cruel reign of Al-Assad” It is as if Turkey declared war on Syria. People are asking, “How can he say that?” Well, shall I repeat it once more? Because he can.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1485774671069-2b48111f-e2eb-10″ taxonomies=”8607″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
2 Dec 2016 | News and features, Turkey, Turkey Uncensored
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Turkey Uncensored is an Index on Censorship project to publish a series of articles from censored Turkish writers, artists and translators.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]More than anything else, it’s the central question that takes a grip on you: “Will I ever be able to see Turkey, my homeland, again?”
This was the feeling that caught me as I crossed the 15 July Martyrs Bridge over the Bosphorus just days after the failed coup attempt.
Before the failed coup it was known as the First Bridge. During the coup it was one of the centers of bloody scenes that marked the beginning of nationwide chaos and trauma that is still unfolding.
I knew I, just as my nation, was heading towards the unknown. At the time, the only thing that mattered was freedom – perhaps the most precious element in any journalist’s existence.
I knew, even as the tragedy for Turkey played out on the streets, that no matter the outcome, among the first victims would be our freedom, which had been fragile for years. Before the coup, we had been forced to deal with the monster of intolerance deeply embedded in the upper echelons of the state. The fierce power struggle had snowballed into a putsch.
As I watched the sun rise on 16 July, I knew without a doubt that the Turkey’s weary journalists — including me — would be rounded up sooner or later.
Freedom mattered. Freedom to be. Freedom to do. My most vivid thought, crossing the bridge, was to move to a free domain, to be able to do what I should: to observe, to listen and to write Turkey’s interesting and baffling story.
But when you must leave, crossing into exile means something much different than a sigh of relief. You leave parts of yourself behind and you know that they will haunt you. Exile, voluntary or not, means a total reset on your existence. It is a journey laced with second thoughts and unforeseen consequences. You will questioned and criticised by some and admired by others for your adventurous nature.
But once in exile, you are very much on your own. Your routines ruined, and your plans abandoned or in need of modification. It’s like entering a darkened room that you must map by touch.
I felt, still, lucky.
Once across the border, all I felt initially was a sense of numbness. It was strangely calming because I had already made this journey out of Turkey into exile.
Decades ago, as a student repulsed by political violence and state brutality, I had to leave Turkey for Scandinavia. I had a memory, a developed sense of intuition: I knew what the stakes were. When you proceed to safety, you rely on your good friends, forget dwelling so much on tomorrow or the day after, and find a place to settle. Whenever in doubt, remember to be thankful that you are free. It’s calmness that matters.
Then you do two things: recalculate your sources for survival and try to do your best to save those that you left behind who are in danger. As I settled somewhere in Europe, I had already absorbed the notion that I would be living on the minimum.
I sensed that good colleagues would not leave Turkey’s exiled journalists out in the cold. Most of them loved Turkey and its people; found its story fascinating, and admired our resilience in the face of repeated waves of oppression. In many cases recently, I was proven right. Those of us in exile, I believe, do not feel abandoned.
Exile means living in solidarity. I persuaded two colleagues to get out before they too were served with invitations to discuss their involvement in the “media leg of a terrorist organisation”. A third changed their mind and luckily still stands free. I worked on the cases of journalists who are stuck or on the run, connecting them with others who can provide legal or financial help. It’s an ongoing process, just as the era of emergency rule continues.
Exile means living with the uncertainty of time. It eats at you. It is an indefinite sentence filled with questions: When will things return to a semblance of normality? Will I ever be able to return? What if I end up like an Iranian intellectual, who have never been able to go home? What if I will have to abandon journalism, cease my sharing of the truth and be forced to do something else?
My gut tells me that this time Turkey’s turmoil may turn out to be long-lasting and leave a more harmful imprint on the nation’s soul. We are in the midst of an open-ended story, mapping the contours by touch with very few clues about the finale.
Exile means spending your days in a fog.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Yavuz Baydar is the co-founder of Platform for Independent Journalism (P24), an initiative to support and promote editorial independence in the Turkish press. He is a veteran Turkish columnist and blogger and was awarded the Special Award of the European Press Prize in 2014.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Turkey Uncensored” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1485774765528-af1463e8-b299-7″ taxonomies=”8607″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
29 Nov 2016 | Campaigns, Campaigns -- Featured, Index Reports, Press Releases
An unprecedented series of crackdowns on media professionals and news outlets took place in Europe and neighbouring countries during the third quarter of 2016, recorded by Index on Censorship’s Mapping Media Freedom project.
Between 1 July and 30 September MMF’s network of correspondents, partners and other sources submitted a total of 406 verified reports of threats to press freedom, a 19% rise from the second quarter of 2016.
An important factor in the rise in media violations was the attack on Turkey’s democratically-elected government on 15 July. Following the failed coup attempt, Turkish authorities forced more than 2,500 journalists out of their jobs, arrested and prosecuted 98 under trumped-up criminal charges, detained 133 and seized or shut down 133 media outlets. The post-coup environment in the country is explored in an extensive case study.
“The post-coup situation for media freedom in Turkey is dire. The sheer number of journalists arrested, detained and charged is without precedent in Europe. At the same time the reports collected by the map are pointing to other areas of concern in Russia and Ukraine,” Hannah Machlin, Mapping Media Freedom project officer, said.
Key findings from the third quarter 2016 report:
- Four journalists were killed: Two in Ukraine, one in Russia and one in Turkey
“With nine out of every 10 murders of journalists never solved, the vicious cycle of impunity still prevails. It has to be broken. There can be no exception to the very basic rule that all attacks on journalists must be investigated quickly and thoroughly. We should never give up the fight for journalists’ safety and the struggle to end impunity for crimes committed against journalists,” Dunja Mijatović, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, said.
- 54 incidents of physical assault were reported
- 107 media professionals were arrested; 150 were detained and released
- 112 reports of intimidation, which includes psychological abuse, sexual harassment, trolling/cyberbullying and defamation, were made
“Reporters Without Borders is deeply concerned by the many cases of the use of violent intimidation tactics to silence journalists over the past few months. Acts of violence, and impunity for these acts, has a serious chilling effect on freedom of expression and freedom of information. The increasing use of violence to silence critical voices is part of a global trend of deteriorating press freedom, which must be addressed as a matter of urgent priority”, said Rebecca Vincent, UK Bureau Director for Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
- Journalistic work was censored or altered 29 times
- Media professionals were blocked from covering a story in 89 cases.
The report is available in web and pdf formats.
For more information, please contact Hannah Machlin, Mapping Media Freedom project officer at [email protected]
About Mapping Media Freedom
Mapping Media Freedom – a joint undertaking with the European Federation of Journalists and Reporters Without Borders, partially funded by the European Commission – covers 42 countries, including all EU member states, plus Bosnia, Iceland, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Norway, Serbia, Turkey, Albania along with Ukraine, Belarus and Russia in (added in April 2015), and Azerbaijan (added in February 2016). The platform was launched in May 2014 and has recorded over 2,500 incidents threatening media freedom.
25 Nov 2016 | News and features, Turkey, Turkey Uncensored
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Straddling the division between Europe and Asia, since 1923 the idealised dream of Turkey has been a secular, modern and democratic country. Although weakened by military coups, the imperfect multi-party democracy survived until recently when president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared his ambitions for a presidential regime.
While he is already the only political power dominating the entire political scene, July’s coup attempt allowed him to start a massive witch hunt to suppress his political opponents. Half of the country resists him while the other half offers unquestionable support. The nation is split.
Many believe Turkey has entered the last stage of political disarray. The country now has more jailed journalists than China, it has closed more than 370 NGOs under emergency law and it recently imprisoned a number of Kurdish MPs.
But Turkey is not a standalone case. After the election of Donald Trump in the US, the world woke up to the threat posed by populist leaders who have gained unprecedented support in mobilising the masses against the fundamental values of democracy in several countries. These leaders are more similar to Erdogan than we like to think. Therefore polarized, increasingly authoritarian Turkey, located at the door of Europe, might be the example to follow carefully in order to understand what to expect from the bleak future of democracy.
This is my diary of our interesting times.
12 Nov: The Turks want to share their rich experience of political trauma with the Americans, as Erdogan is among the first group of world leaders to congratulate Trump, followed by Sisi and Le Pen. This is party time for the global mobalisation of organised ignorance. Disappointed Americans should prepare themselves for a full-scale war against the system of liberal values by the banal. This won’t be with House of Cards sophistication, because this isn’t Arendt’s “banality of evil” but the evil of mobilised banal.
13 Nov: A literary event in Zagreb feels irrelevant when friends who are writers are in prison. My heart is pounding at the passport line. These days you never know when they will confiscate your passport by reporting it “lost”. Now I know why Walter Benjamin was too late to leave Nazi Germany. You never know when is too late. I think a lot about Frankfurt School crew nowadays while playing a dangerous hopscotch on borders.
15 Nov: American actress Lindsay Lohan jokes have become the the latest PR tool of the Turkish government. The Erdogan-loving actress said on Turkish channels a few days ago: “In Turkey you have free will as a woman, it’s amazing here.” It is not only the evil but also the bizarre we are struggling with. Interior Minister said, “Come and open the 370 NGO’s if you can,” the Interior Minister announced recently. The self-confidence of this ignorance is paralysing.
16 Nov: A government-supporting paper reports on the today’s mine disaster: “Eight trucks and some miners are stuck”. Oxford Dictionary unveils “post-truth” as the word of 2016. It means “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion.” The “fact” is that sixteen miners were stuck and the “truth” is that precision to lead with the number of truck damaged is shameful.
17 Nov: AKP MP’s put forward a motion for amnesty for sexual assailants of minors should they marry their victims. A last minute intervention from the main opposition MP’s stopped the motion, only to be negotiated again next week. This is what I mean when by an attack human values. One morning you find yourself saying: “No, you cannot marry the minors to their rapists.”
19 November: It turns out the new law also rescues all the assailants if the victim is married to one of her rapists. This is nauseating. Women are shocked and furious. Reaction is intense.
22 Nov: “Shock and awe politics” has worked perfectly again. Erdogan, as if he is unaware of the child abuse law, said that draft should be renewed. While everybody was busy with the insane law, more leading Kurdish political figures were imprisoned. This is how they do it. They get you busy by shaking the unquestionable human values as the side show and meanwhile do other things. CNN is now “discussing” the American alt-right’s Richard Spencer’s and his question of whether or not Jews are humans, just like Turkish media “discussed” the minor’s marriage to their rapists. Women’s organisations are gathering in front of the parliament to protest.
Hey Lindsay, it is really amazing here!
In her new book, Turkey: the Insane and the Melancholy, journalist and author Ece Temelkuran discusses the role of the Turkish ministry of culture in censoring theatre productions.
Turkey Uncensored is an Index on Censorship project to publish a series of articles from censored Turkish writers, artists and translators.
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