DİYARBAKIR - The journalists, who did not give up on bringing the truth to the public despite the gross violations of rights, stated that January 10 was not a day to celebrate for them and said that they would continue their struggle to end the pressure on the press.

 

Every year, January 10 is celebrated as "Working Journalists Day" in Turkey, as journalists won the fight against newspaper bosses for their personal rights in 1962. However, journalists met this day in an environment where pressure, detention, arrest and violations of rights were at its peak this year. According to the data of professional organizations, in Turkey, where 30 percent of journalists are unemployed, 87 journalists are in prison for carrying out their professional activities, and dozens of journalists are in the grip of the law with investigations and lawsuits.

 

The law proposal brought to the Parliament by the AKP-MHP government under the name of "Law on Combating Disinformation" and called the "Censorship Law" by professional organizations was accepted on October 13, 2022. Thus, while the right to report and receive information was hindered, the violence and obstruction of the police against journalists in the field increased. Journalists, who do not see January 10 as a day of celebration due to all these antidemocratic practices, call it the day of struggle.

 

JOURNALISTS ARE BLOCKED FROM WORKING FREELY

 

Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reporter Müjdat Can said the following regarding January 10: “They say 'Working Journalists' Day', but there are hardly any journalists working in the field. It is very difficult to come across journalists in the field, especially in Kurdistan, apart from Free Press employees. The reason for this is that those who obey the government obscure the truth. The government, which has taken over 90 percent of the media, has finished journalism in the field. Most news are bespoke press releases or images. Now it has come to such a point that even the mainstream media is not allowed to take pictures. Images are taken and served either by the police or by different media. The news prepared as much as it is desired to be used is sent to the 'journalists'. While there are so many problems in the country, the war against the Kurds, violations of rights in prisons, pressure and violence against the society, unfortunately, there are only a few journalists on the finger. So what happens to those on the field? He is arrested by the government as a 'terrorist' or 'dissident' for publishing the facts with images, photographs and documents. We saw the most obvious example of this in the arrest of 16 of our friends on June 16. Again, on the anniversary of the founding of the Republic on October 29, 9 of our friends were arrested as a result of an Ankara-based investigation.”

 

THE IMPRISONED JOURNALISTS SHOULD BE RELEASED

 

Stating that the arrested journalists were journalists who brought the truth to the public on the field, Can said: “One of them was Emrullah Acar, the journalist who made the voice of the Şenyaşar family heard. An investigation has already been opened against him. In this investigation, it was decided that there is no place for prosecution. We know they are innocent. Their only crime is to bring the truth to the public. We know well that Emrullah and our other friends were arrested because they showed the realities of life that the government wanted to obscure. In order to celebrate Working Journalists' Day, first of all, the arrested journalists must be released.

 

JOURNALISTS ARE FIGHTING A GREAT FIGHT

 

Stating that journalists should not be remembered only on January 10, JINNEWS reporter Rojda Aydın said: “Journalists are subjected to violence and pressure in order to convey the truth to the public. Journalists are the first to see the truth. Therefore, the role and mission of the press in society is very important. Journalists have always been put under pressure, but the Free Press, in particular, has not stopped writing the truth. Our friends were arrested, but we did not give up on the facts. Their aim is to obscure the facts. All women journalists face pressure and violence in the field, but women journalists are also exposed to sexual assault. They are fighting a great fight against this on the field. There were attacks against journalists again in June and October. Journalists were detained and arrested. Dozens of our friends are behind bars on Working Journalists' Day. We will also fight for our imprisoned friends. Journalists are those who take their place, not behind bars.”

 

FREE PRESS DID NOT BOW DOWN

 

Stating that Working Journalists Day has no significance for Kurdish journalists, Xwebûn News Editor Medya Bal said: “January 10 is an important day for journalists, but not for us Kurdish journalists. In the midst of so much pressure and violence, dozens of our friends were arrested. As Kurdish journalists, we cannot celebrate this day. The government wants to hide the truth from the people, there is an economic crisis, there is a war against the Kurds and it wants to hide this truth. The Free Press is the target of the government because of its struggle for society. The Free Press has struggled for the truth to reach the society from the very first day. That's why they were killed in the past, they are arrested today. However, despite all this, the Free press did not pledge allegiance. Even now, journalists are arrested, our websites are banned, and we face serious obstacles. Despite this, we persevere and continue the legacy we inherited.”