Turkish PM to face questioning on media in Strasbourg





This file photo shows a rally against the recent arrest of two journalists. DAILY NEWS photo, Selahattin SÖNMEZ
The Turkish prime minister will face questions Wednesday from European parliamentarians about media freedom in Turkey during a visit to Strasbourg that comes after recent arrests of journalists and the seizure of a draft manuscript.
“The situation is still bad regardless of the efforts to change the laws,” Mats Johansson, the standing rapporteur on media freedom of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, or PACE, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Monday.
He said the recent arrest of journalists in Turkey and the police seizure of an unpublished book by one of the arrested reporters were “absolutely a source of concern” in Strasbourg and a blot on Turkey’s freedoms record.
“Turkey is mentioned in resolutions being dealt with during the session,” he said.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will address PACE’s spring session Wednesday as the guest head of government and respond to questions from the parliamentarians.
“The prime minister’s Strasbourg visit will be an affirmation of the strong support our country extends to the Council of Europe,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written statement. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu will also attend the session from Monday to Friday as the chairman of the Ministers’ Committee of the Council of Europe.
Many observers say, however, that the latest developments on press freedom are casting a shadow over Turkey’s international image.
“We are not happy with the situation concerning freedom of expression in Turkey,” Christos Pourgourides, the chair of the PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, told the Daily News.
The situation in Turkey has been criticized in recent reports by the U.S. State Department and the European Parliament. Erdoğan has insisted that nobody in Turkey is behind bars due to their journalism but because of other charges, including being a member of a terrorist organization.
“We do follow the situation concerning human rights and freedoms in Turkey very closely. We are upset by this act [the arrests] against journalists,” Pourgourides said, making it clear that the detention of journalists points to serious problems in Turkey with media freedom.
“It is no good for Turkey. The latest developments show that there is still a big distance between words and action on the ground,” he said, referring to the Turkish government’s reform efforts over the last years.
The PACE spring session was opened Monday by President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, a Turkish parliamentarian. A debate on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue will take place Tuesday in a session attended by Professor Mehmet Görmez, head of Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate. The same day Davutoğlu will present a report of the Ministers’ Committee to the General Assembly.
Erdoğan and Davutoğlu are expected to meet with Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland and Çavuşoğlu. Turkey will hand over the presidency of the Ministers’ Committee to Ukraine on May 11.