15/02/2010: TURKEY – SEEMO PRESS RELEASE: TURKEY SENTENCES KURDISH NEWSPAPER EDITOR TO 21 YEARS IN PRISON

Vienna, 15/02/2010

A Turkish court on 10 December sentenced the editor of a Kurdish newspaper to 21 years in prison for publishing what the court called Kurdish propaganda, only two weeks after the European Court of Human Rights ordered Turkey to pay over 40,000 Euros to 20 Turkish journalists as compensation for having violated their rights.

A court in Diyarbakir, in the mostly Kurdish southeast region of Turkey, found Ozan Kilinc, editor and publisher of the Azadiya Welat daily, guilty of disseminating “propaganda of a terrorist organization” by publishing reports and pictures on the outlawed Turkey Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its jailed leader in 12 separate issues in June last year, AFP and other news outlets reported.

The judges issued an arrest warrant for the editor, who was not present in the courtroom.

“Too often the authorities in Turkey and elsewhere use anti-terrorism laws to restrict press freedom,” said IPI Director David Dadge. “This is unacceptable. As the European Court of Human rights and other international bodies have often stated, banning newspapers and jailing journalists amounts to government censorship of the media.”

Azadiya Welat has often been the target of judicial action by Turkish authorities for allegedly acting as a mouthpiece of the PKK, which is considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey and much of the international community, including the European Union and the United States. The daily has had to replace six editors since it started publishing in 2006 because the editors had to either flee the country to avoid imprisonment or were jailed, Reuters reported.

Azadiya Welat’s previous editor, Vedat Kursum, has been in jail for the past 13 months. He is currently on trial, facing more than 20 cases of allegedly spreading rebel propaganda, praising criminals and aiding and abetting rebels, the Turkish press freedom organisation Bianet reported.

On 28 January this year, IPI welcomed a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights stating that Turkey had violated Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights when it suspended five newspapers and sentenced a magazine editor to prison over an article criticizing prison brutality.

In IPI’s World Press Freedom Review 2009, launched on Thursday 11 February, IPI Director Dadge expressed concerns regarding Turkey’s consistently poor attitude towards press freedom and use of laws to prosecute journalists, including Article 301 – which bans “insults” to the Turkish state.

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For more information please contact

Mirjana Milosevic
SEEMO Press Freedom Coordinator
E-mail: info@seemo.org

Vienna, 15/02/2010

The Serbian town of Pirot has withdrawn already-agreed financial support for Serbian weekly Pirotske Novine, after the paper published a critical article on 12 February 2010 asking why the mayor of Pirot had bought a 60,000 Euro car in the midst of the economic crisis.

“SEEMO strongly condemns such action by the local authorities against critical media,” said SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic. “The media is one of the key pillars of a democratic society. Journalists should therefore be able to express themselves freely and carry out their jobs without any interference by the local authorities.”

Vujovic added: “SEEMO considers the withdrawal of the agreed financial support to Pirotske Novine a serious attack on press freedom in general and on the ability to carry out investigative reporting in particular. Putting the media under pressure will only encourage censorship.”

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) fully supports the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS) in their call to resolve the dispute accordingly with Pirotske Novine.

Vienna, 18/02/2010

The South East European Media Organisation (SEEMO) strongly condemns the alleged threat made by a police spokesman against Bulgarian BGNES news agency journalist Ivan Yanev.

On 8 February 2010 Yanev was investigating the murder of a policeman in the village of Enina in Bulgaria when he was threatened by a police spokesman from the nearby city of Stara Zagora who stated that Yanev was a “dead man.”

Yanev was accused of reporting on the murder before the official police version was released and is now banned from returning to the crime scene.

The Bulgarian interior minister has been informed about the threat but so far has not taken any action. Since the threat was made, BGNES reporters have not been given any further information and are unable to visit any crime scenes.

“Journalists must be able to report without fear of harassment and intimidation,” SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic stated. “Such behaviour is obviously aimed at intimidating journalists and investigative reporters in Bulgaria and are seen as attempts to scare them and obstruct their work”.

Vujovic added: “Since the beginning of 2010 SEEMO has reacted to the following cases in Bulgaria: the attack on Lidia Pavlova – SEEMO sent a letter to the Bulgarian Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Interior on 29 January 2010; the two attacks on TV Skat, on 2 February 2010 and 3 February 2010; and the attack on a bTV journalist on 10 February 2010. It is a very worrying that within a short timeframe several cases of verbal and physical assaults have been reported in Bulgaria and it is even more alarming that so far no answers have been received from state officials and the police.”

SEEMO believes that a safe working environment for journalists is a fundamental principle of any democratic society, and therefore urges the Bulgarian authorities to investigate these cases immediately and to take all necessary action against those responsible and finally start preventing such cases from happening.

Vienna, 23/02/2010

A former editor of a Kurdish-language newspaper in Turkey is facing a 525-year sentence, less than two weeks after his successor was also imprisoned.

Vedat Kursun, former editor of Kurdish daily, Azadiya Welat, has been charged with 105 counts of “helping and abetting the PKK organization by spreading propaganda” and “glorifying crimes and criminals in articles published in numerous issues of the newspaper. On 12 February 2010, his successor as editor, Ozan Kilinc, was convicted and sentenced to 21 years imprisonment for similar charges.

Kursun has already served 13 months in jail awaiting his trial after being arrested in Istanbul in January 2009 as he arrived in the city to testify in another case. He has been held in Diyarbakir Prison in the southeast of Turkey since his arrest. His trial was scheduled to begin on18 February 2010.

At a hearing in Diyarbakir High Criminal Court on 19 February 2010, prosecutors in the case stated that although Kursun was not a member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) – which is outlawed in Turkey – he was guilty of disseminating propaganda for it by publishing stories on the statements and activities of the organisation, including its imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan. Kursun’s lawyer rejected the charges and has demanded his acquittal. His trial has now been put on hold and Kursun remains in prison.

Kursun’s lawyer, Servet Ozen, spoke to the Turkish press freedom organisation Bianet, pointing out that the news and opinion articles in question were published under the scope of freedom of expression and the right to inform the people, not as propaganda.

Ozan Kilinc, who assumed the role of editor-in-chief of Azadiya Welat after Kursun’s arrest last year, was sentenced to 21 years for publishing propaganda on behalf of a terrorist organisation, belonging to a terrorist organisation and for committing crimes on behalf of a terror organisation.

“This is not the first time that the authorities have used anti-terrorism laws to stifle freedom of the press and freedom of expression in Turkey,” IPI Director David Dadge said on 22 February 2010. “I am particularly concerned as this case comes less than two weeks after Kursun’s successor, Ozan Kilinc, was sentenced to 21 years on similar charges.”

In the IPI’s World Press Freedom Review 2009, Dadge expressed concerns regarding Turkey’s consistently poor attitude towards press freedom and use of laws to prosecute journalists, including Article 301 – which bans”insults” to the Turkish state.

For more information contact:

Mirjana Milosevic
Press Freedom Coordinator
E-mail: info@seemo.org

Vienna, 25/02/2010

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) strongly condemns threats against Vehbi Kajtazi, a journalist for the daily newspaper Koha Ditore, in Pristina, by a former commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) – Ushtria Clirimtare e Kosoves, or UCK.

Kajtazi wrote a critical article about the amnesty for a group of prisoners, including Alban Geci, the son of Sabit Geci, a former KLA Commander, on 18 February 2010. After the article was published, Sabit Geci allegedly threatened Kajtazi for supposedly slandering his family. When he was asked by the newspaper what he was doing, he denied that he had threatened the journalist. He said: “I do not threaten, I act”.

After he received the threat, the journalist reported on it on 23 February 2010 in an article entitled: “Sabit Geci: I do not threaten, I act”

Kajtaz reported the case to the Kosovo Police (KP) where he was advised to forget about the threat and not to continue to press charges as the court was not going to take any further action in the case.

Kajtazi was also allegedly threatened by Sabit Geci in April 2009 when he published details of the charges against Geci’s two sons, following an attack on the house of Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci.

“SEEMO is very alarmed by the passive attitude of an official institution such as the police, when threats by journalists are being reported,” commented SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic. “It is important that authorities and government officials support journalists by providing the necessary assistance and help when threats have been received.”

SEEMO strongly condemns the threats on Kajtaz and urges the authorities in Pristina to do everything in their power to investigate this case, as well as to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.

Vienna, 04/03/2010

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed critical columnists for driving down Turkey’s stock exchange and has suggested that “those who are giving the pencils to them should say: ‘Sorry, there is no place in our shop’,” according to a column in the Turkish Hurriyet Daily News by IPI Board Member and Hurriyet columnist Ferai Tınc. The original Hurriyet column was translated into English by Hurriyet Daily News staff.

Speaking at a summit of provincial chairs of his Justice and Development Party (AK), on 26 February 2010, Erdogan criticised the media’s coverage of the recent ‘Sledgehammer’ coup plot and his three-way meeting with President Abdullah Gul and Chief of General Staff General Ilker Basbug, held the day before.

Turkish journalists had criticised the prime minister’s handling of an alleged plan to overthrow the elected government and stated he should have dealt with the matter in “open, democratic channels,” rather than behind closed doors. The threat of instability sparked by an alleged plot by members of the armed forces to oust the ruling AK party – which has espoused certain Islamist principles – has resulted in a fall in Turkey’s economic standing.

Erdogan said: “If the stock market is declining 6.5 percent, we know who is responsible,” Hurriyet reported.

Erdogan warned media owners and editors, stating that they should be responsible for what their journalists write:“I want to call the bosses of these newspapers. You cannot say, ‘I cannot intervene in what the columnist writes.’ Nobody has a right to increase tension in this country. I cannot let such articles upset financial balances. You pay the salary of that columnist and tomorrow you will have no right to complain. I am talking to the media bosses. No one has the right to turn a country’s economy on its head. We won’t allow it, because it’s clear the state to which the economy has come. Please, everyone should be aware of their limits. At that point, I need to warn.”

Columnists, media chiefs and press freedom groups have in turn heavily criticised the prime minister’s speech.

IPI’s national committee in Turkey called the speech a “severe verbal attack on free media which is an essential element of democracy,” adding: “We consider Prime Minister Erdogan’s words with deep concern.”

IPI Board Member and Hurriyet columnist Tinc called the speech “unfortunate for the prime minister.”

Speaking to the IPI Secretariat in Vienna, she said: “This is a direct attack on press freedom in Turkey. He has shown before his lack of understanding of press freedom and democracy. He says Turkey merits progressive democracy, but on the other hand he is accusing the columnists for the problems with the economy.

“It is impossible to silence journalists with such threats. I urge the prime minister not to quarrel with journalists, but to start a dialogue.”

The Turkish national committee also drew attention to the fact that as a member of the Council of Europe, Turkey is expected to uphold certain democratic values, including freedom of the press as enshrined in the Parliamentary Assembly’s Recommendation 1897: Respect for media freedom.

In another Hurriyet Daily News column, columnist Ozgur Ogret quoted IPI Press Freedom Manager Anthony Mills as saying: “Although this is not the first time the prime minister has criticised the media; the comments he made are extremely worrying … The media is free as long as they do not criticize him in ways he does not like.”

Turkey will take over the rotating chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in November 2010.

“As an aspiring member of the European Union and existing member of the Council of Europe, Turkey needs to realise that freedom of the press is a cornerstone of democracy, and the press should not be silenced for their criticism,” said IPI Director David Dadge.

“I find it regrettable that Prime Minister Erdogan seems unable to appreciate this. I urge Turkey to stop stifling its press, especially in the name of progress. Columnists and news reporters have a democratic right to publish criticism of the government, and their editor and media outlet owners should not be encouraged to sanction them for doing so.”

Erdogan has proved to be a fierce critic and an increasingly worrying foe of the media since becoming prime minister in 2003. As IPI observed in its World Press Freedom Review 2009 – Focus on the Middle East and North Africa – the media environment in Turkey has become increasingly constrained due to a protracted stand-off between Erdogan and the critical media, particularly the Dogan Media Group.

In February 2009, Dogan received an unprecedented 345 million Euro fine for an alleged overdue tax payment. Suspicions of political motivation behind the financial penalty grew later in the year when Turkish tax authorities slapped another 1.74 billion Euro fine on Dogan Yayin Holding, owners of the Dogan Media Group, dwarfing the earlier amount.

The fines prompted the EU to issue a report warning Turkey to do more to protect freedom of expression if it wants to eventually join the Union.

At IPI’s annual World Congress in Istanbul in 2007, in a Question & Answer session with Congress participants, Erdogan said: “In order to define the ideal state, our constitution has four elements: democratic, secular, social, the rule of law. If one of these is missing you do not have the ideal state. All four of these should be equally important and we never think of compromising on any of these basic tenets.”

A free press is considered a cornerstone of any vibrant democracy, but in early 2009 Erdogan used a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Istanbul underground station as a platform to blast reporters. A brief confrontation broke out during his speech, and as news photographers homed in to get footage, the crowd turned on journalists, attacking them in front of the prime minister who, according to eyewitness accounts, did little to intervene.

On several occasions in 2009 the prime minister urged his supporters to stop buying papers that, as he told one rally, “stand by others, rather than stand by the prime minister of the Turkish Republic.”

This statement is supported by the Vienna based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO).

*** For further information, please contact:

Mirjana Milosevic
SEEMO Press Freedom Coordinator
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO)
E-mail: info@seemo.org
Web: www.seemo.org

Vienna, 10/03/2010

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), strongly condemns the manner in which French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner behaved towards Budimir Nicic, a Voice of America reporter, in the Kosovo town of Gracanica.

On 2 March 2010, Kouchner, who was UN administrator in Kosovo from 1999 until 2001, visited Gracanica, where Nicic posed a question about Kouchner’s view regarding human organ trafficking allegations. Kouchner was asked to comment on the claims by the families of Serbs kidnapped and murdered in Kosovo.

As a reaction, Kouchner, according to media reports, laughed out loud and said to the journalist, in French (SEEMO/IPI translation into English) : But you are sick, aren’t you? Do I look like someone who would traffic organs? You are insane, to believe all kinds of nonsense like that…. Sir, you should consult (a doctor). There was no yellow house, there was no organ trade. People who talk about things like that are bastards and murderers. Kouchner’s answer is posted in the form of video material on different websites, including Youtube.

The claims about organ trafficking are also mentioned in a book published by former Hague Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte. There were also different reports about this case in media. The case was also investigated by the Serbian War Crimes Prosecution, and was addressed in several international reports. According to these sources, hundreds of Serb civilians were kidnapped in Kosovo in 1999 and then their vital organs were removed and sold on the black market. One of the locations mentioned as the possible place where the kidnapped civilians were operated on was a house with a yellow front wall (yellow house).

SEEMO is surprised at this manner of communication by an official representative of the French government. The behaviour by the French Foreign Minister was not professional and it is not a way in which a state official should be communicating with a journalist, said SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic.

Vujovic added: Of course, the journalist might have formulated his question differently, but in asking the question he made clear the source of the information – in this case the families of kidnapped and murdered Serbs. It is unacceptable that a state official react in this aggressive manner. As a politician, and a member of the French government, he should communicate professionally and responsibly with journalists. We would have expected Mr. Kouchner to react in a more courteous and dignified way.

*** For further information, please contact:

Mirjana Milosevic
SEEMO Press Freedom Coordinator
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO)
E-mail: info@seemo.org
Web: www.seemo.org

Vienna, 11/03/2010

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is concerned about political pressure on editors and journalists of Magyar Szo, the only daily in Hungarian language in Vojvodina, Serbia.

In February 2010, the Hungarian National Council in Vojvodina announced that Magyar Szo does not serve the Hungarian community in Serbia properly due to the bad editorial policy of the daily and therefore needs to be put back on the right track through regulation of the editorial policy by a special advisory body that would monitor the reporting of the paper.

In response to the Council’s decision, on 2 March 2010, the members of the editorial board of Magyar Szo published a statement presenting their unanimous dissatisfaction with the decision of the Hungarian National Council and considering the proposed regulation of the editorial policy as censorship and a limitation of the freedom of objective public information.

SEEMO Secretary Oliver Vujovic said: SEEMO is worried about the political pressure on the daily Magyar Szo, exerted by the Hungarian National Council. SEEMO would like to remind the Hungarian National Council that journalists and editors must work independently, and that no additional bodies should have any responsibility over the reporting.

Vujovic added: It is very important to maintain a free and independent editorial policy. Such an advisory body violates the principles of media freedom and introduces clear censorship by a group of persons from the Hungarian National Council in Vojvodina. It must also be clear that the daily Magyar Szo cannot and should not report in the interest of the Hungarian National Council or in the interest of certain Hungarian parties in Vojvodina. The newspaper must be free to represent points of views of all members of the Hungarian minority in Vojvodina. This paper is not a party newspaper; it is clearly a newspaper for members of the Hungarian minority

Finally, SEEMOsupports the newsroom and editors of Magyar Szo, as well as the Journalists’ Association of Serbia (UNS), the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS) and the Independent Journalists’ Organisation of Vojvodina (NDNV) in their statements given in connection with this case.

*** For further information, please contact:

Mirjana Milosevic
SEEMO Press Freedom Coordinator
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO)
E-mail: info@seemo.org
Web: www.seemo.org

Vienna, 15/03/2010

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) strongly condemns the attack on journalist Rade Tesic from Euroblic, the Bosnian – Herzegovinian edition of the Blic daily in Belgrade, Serbia.

On 13 March, 2010, the car of Tesic – parked near his house in Doboj, Bosnia Herzegovina – was set on fire. A passer-by who noticed the fire managed to avert more material damage to other cars parked nearby by using snow to put out the fire. The passer-by then reported the incident to the police. Fortunately Tesic was not injured during the attack.

Tesic recently wrote about a number of topics that have provoked some fierce reactions in Doboj. The editing staff of EuroBlic received numerous reactions – including some verbal threats.

“To set the car of a journalist on fire is a serious attack on press freedom and is seen as an attempt to intimidate and silence journalists”, said SEEMO Secretary-General Oliver Vujovic.

He added: “SEEMO strongly condemns the attack on the car of Tesic and welcomes the police investigation in order to determine the cause of the fire and to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice. Furthermore, SEEMO urges the authorities to do everything in their power to ensure that journalists working in Bosnia Herzegovina are able to safely carry out their profession.”

Vienna, 30/03/2010

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) strongly condemns the discourteous language used by Romanian Member of the European Parliament (MEP) George Becali towards Cornelia Popescu, a journalist for the online newspaper ZIUA Veche in Romania.

According to information received by the Media Monitoring Agency, on 10 March 2010 Popescu conducted an interview by telephone with MEP Becali during which she asked him about the declarations of financial interests he made to the European Parliament, as well as subsequent declarations.

As a reaction, Becali allegedly answered using virulently obscene language.

Popescu asked Becali why he was talking to her in such a manner.

SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic said: “SEEMO strongly condemns the use of such obscene language by a Member of the European Parliament towards a journalist. Such behaviour is considered a clear signal aimed at intimidating journalists and an attack on the freedom to report freely on current affairs. Journalists have the right to report freely on all issues of public interest.”