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Category: Media / Government and Politics / World Politics

Protests at closure of anti-Erdogan Turkish newspaper turn violent

Saturday, 5 Mar 2016 21:57:45

Turkish riot police were deployed to protests outside the headquarters of the Zaman newspaper, which was ordered into administration yesterday. (AFP: Ozan Kose)

Turkish riot police have fired plastic bullets and tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters who gathered outside an opposition newspaper the day after it was seized by authorities in a violent raid.

Key points

  • Anti-government Zaman newspaper ordered into administration
  • Protests outside offices turn violent
  • EU, US concerned about free speech in Turkey

"Free press cannot be silenced," the protesters shouted.

Police used large amounts of tear gas, water cannons and plastic bullets to disperse the crowd of around 500 protesters outside the Istanbul premises of Zaman daily, witnesses said.

The Zaman newspaper, closely linked to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's rival Fethullah Gulen, was ordered into administration by Istanbul prosecutors yesterday.

External Link: Tweet - Zaman front page

It today published a defiant warning of the "darkest days" in the history of the press after authorities seized control of its headquarters in a dramatic late-night raid by riot police.

"The Constitution is suspended," the newspaper, which managed to print its latest issue after the violent takeover, said on its front page in large font on a black background.

"The Turkish press has experienced one of the darkest days in its history," it added.

"Turkey's mass circulation newspaper was seized despite Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's assurance that 'free press is our redline'."

Shortly before midnight (local time), a team of police arrived with two Turkish-made TOMA water cannon trucks, which are used by the police and exported to several countries.

They advanced military style towards the waiting supporters, firing the freezing water directly at them.

Using bolt-cutters to unlock the iron gate in front of the building, dozens of police then marched into the premises to seize the headquarters and formally place it under administration, pushing aside anyone who stood in their way, media images showed.

Once the building was cleared, the court-appointed administrators — lawyers Tahsin Kaplan and Metin Ilhan and writer Sezai Sengonul — were bussed inside the complex to begin their work, state-run newspaper Anatolia said.

Men run and cover their faces as Turkish anti-riot police officers use tear gas to disperse supporters in front of the headquarters of the Turkish daily newspaper Zaman Photo: Protestors yelled 'free press cannot be silenced' before police used tear gas to disperse the crowd. (AFP: Ozan Kose)

EU, Washington 'extremely worried' about free speech

The swoop against the paper, staunchly opposed to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, caused immediate concern in Washington and Brussels over declining media freedoms in Turkey, a key EU ally.

It came ahead of a visit by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to Brussels Monday for a crucial summit meeting with EU leaders.

EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn said he was "extremely worried" about the move "which jeopardises progress" made by Turkey in other areas.

External Link: Johannes Hahn tweets disappointment at Zaman silencing

He warned on Twitter that Turkey, which is a long-standing candidate to join the EU, needs to "respect the freedom of the media" and rights were "not negotiable".

The president of the European Parliament Martin Schulz tweeted the seizure was "yet another blow to press freedom in Turkey" and said he planned to raise the issue on Monday.

The United States said the court order was "the latest in a series of troubling judicial and law enforcement actions taken by the Turkish government targeting media outlets and others critical of it".

"We urge Turkish authorities to ensure their actions uphold the universal democratic values enshrined in their own constitution, including freedom of speech and especially freedom of the press," State Department spokesman John Kirby said.

The daily Cumhuriyet newspaper's editor-in-chief Can Dundar and Ankara bureau chief Erdem Gul were released on an order from Turkey's top court last week after three months in jail on charges of publishing state secrets.

But they still face trial on March 25.

Meanwhile almost 2,000 journalists, bloggers and ordinary citizens, including high school students, have found themselves prosecuted on accusations of insulting President Erdogan.

Independent pro-Kurdish television channel IMC TV was taken off air in Turkey last weekend following accusations that it broadcast "terrorist propaganda" for militants.

AFP

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