“The European Union cannot interfere in steps taken ... within the rule of law against elements that threaten our national security,” Erdoğan said Dec. 15 in a speech delivered at an inauguration ceremony for oil refiner TÜPRAŞ’s new plant in the northwestern province of Kocaeli. “They should mind their own business.”
The raid on daily Zaman and Samanyolu TV station, which marked an escalation in Erdoğan’s battle with his erstwhile ally, U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, has drawn harsh criticism and warnings from both the European Union and the U.S.
“The police raids and arrests of a number of journalists and media representatives in Turkey today are incompatible with the freedom of media, which is a core principle of democracy,” EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said in the joint statement.
“This operation goes against the European values and standards Turkey aspires to be part of,” they said.
The United States also expressed concern Dec. 14 over the detentions in Turkey of more than two dozen media figures.
Erdoğan vowed not to engage in any reconciliation after police raids into the two media outlets close Gülen and the detention of dozens of people, suggesting that events are part of Turkey’s “normalization” process.
“Neither inside the country nor abroad will we reconcile in any way with those who still try to draw a direction for Turkey through perception management operations, fabricated news articles and fabricated front-page stories,” he said.
“Don’t pay attention to lies. Very beautiful developments are happening now and will continue to happen in Turkey. All of this is part of a normalization process,” Erdoğan said.
“I wonder if those who have kept this country at the EU doorstep for 50 years know what this step means?” he said, referring to the detentions.
“Elements that threaten our national security will receive the necessary response, even if they are members of the press,” he said. “When taking such a step we don’t care what the EU might say, or if the EU is going to accept us. We don’t care... Please keep your mind to yourself.”..........................http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-president-erdogan-slams-eu-over-remarks-on-media-raid-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=75648&NewsCatID=338
15/12/14
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En Turquie, Erdogan a trois obsessions : « le Gülen, la Presse et Israël »...
ReplyDeleteL’opération de lundi est-elle une atteinte à la démocratie ou bien la parade d’un complot ?
Recep Tayyip Erdogan parle désormais de normalisation bien plus que de démocratisation, c’est significatif. Nous sommes dans un contexte très opaque, avec deux adversaires, le régime turc et la confrérie Gülen, s’accusant mutuellement de terrorisme et de totalitarisme. Gülen n’est pas irréprochable, on sait que des preuves avaient été fabriquées lors de procès contre des militaires à l’époque où son mouvement était alliée avec Erdogan. Mais elle a été très déstabilisée par les arrestations et limogeages de l’hiver dernier, donc je ne la crois plus assez puissante pour organiser les complots dont Erdogan l’accuse. On attend des preuves, en tout cas. On a plutôt l’impression d’un président qui, fort de la confiance populaire, se lance dans une procédure abusive pour abattre un ennemi. Erdogan a trois obsessions : Gülen, la presse et Israël.
Quel impact ces évènements auront-ils sur le climat économique ?
Cela ne l’affectera pas vraiment, car le pays est déjà confronté à bien plus grave. Il est au cœur d’une crise régionale d’ampleur, potentiellement déstabilisatrice pour lui, avec la guerre en Syrie, les accusations envers Ankara de complaisance avec Daech, la résurgence du problème kurde, les deux millions de réfugiés syriens, etc................En savoir plus sur http://www.lesechos.fr/monde/afrique-moyen-orient/0204018441198-dorothee-schmid-le-president-turc-veut-montrer-quil-continue-de-tenir-son-pays-dune-main-de-fer-1075257.php?xtor=RSS37&HD1c18g6vZQVULwE.99
15/12/14
Turkey, EU in war of words over media raids ...
ReplyDeleteAnkara cannot accept “heavy criticism” from the European Union about mass detentions targeting the media, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said, accusing the EU of "not being sincere" in its approach to Turkey’s fight against the "parallel state.”
“The EU harshly criticized the legal process after seeing that some journalists were taken into custody, and there were some threats directed against us about stopping the negotiation process. The EU’s approach is not sincere. It’s at variance with the candid process we have established recently [between Turkey and the EU]," Çavuşoğlu said on Dec. 16 at a joint press conference with his Norwegian counterpart, Borge Brende.
“Everyone can express dismay over the arrest of journalists and wish to see a transparent judicial process. But we cannot accept such heavy criticism against Turkey and its government after the beginning of a judicial process,” he added.
Çavuşoğlu said that according to the chief prosecutor, the detained senior media figures were not being investigated for their journalistic activities, but rather for allegedly being part of a "crime syndicate."
He also denounced a letter penned by a representative of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which called for the release of the detained journalists.
“You are talking about the separation of powers and independence of the judiciary, but at the same time you order the executive branch to release the detainees,” he said.................http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-eu-in-war-of-words-over-media-raids.aspx?pageID=238&nID=75711&NewsCatID=510
16/12/14
The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović today wrote to Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu calling for the immediate release of detained journalists...
ReplyDelete“Yesterday's arrests point to a resurgence in the threats against journalists. They should be released immediately,” Mijatović said.
On 14 December, police arrested numerous members of the media during raids on a newspaper and television station.
“The arrests once again show that a thorough revision of the laws allowing for the imprisonment of journalists in Turkey is urgent. Laws should not be used to curb dissenting views in a society,” Mijatović wrote in the letter.
The Representative has repeatedly been calling for the reform of a series of laws governing media freedom in Turkey, including the provisions of the Criminal Code and the Anti-Terror legislation most often used to imprison journalists.........http://www.osce.org/fom/131896?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=oscelatestnews
15/12/14