#Pressfreedom: 'Turkey is not a safe place for journalists', says Sevgi Akarçeşme

Under its leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey disregarding fundamental human rights such as freedom of the press is nothing new – but according to Turkish journalists the situation in the country is getting worse. On Tuesday 15 March, Sevgi Akarçeşme, editor of Today’s Zaman, her colleague and Zaman’s bureau chief in Brussels Selcuk Gültasli and Oliver Money-Kyrle from the International Foundation of Journalists organized a meeting at the Press Club Brussels to raise awareness on the dangerous status quo in Turkey.

“Mainstream media in Turkey are not doing journalism”, Akarçeşme criticized during the meeting in Brussels. “They do everything the Turkish government can’t take measures against!” Akarçeşme works for Today’s Zaman, the English language sister of Zaman, one of the newspapers which was seized by the Turkish government earlier this year. Within two day’s of the Turkish regime’s takeover of the newspaper, the former critical Zaman was turned into a propaganda piece, according to Akarçeşme. One of their first covers showed a smiling Erdoğan on it, a rather untypical cover.

“People in Turkey no longer get accurate news!”, Akarçeşme added. “All media are in Erdoğan’s hands!” She and her colleagues are very concerned. “I think the situation in the country is only getting worse. It’s a hell for journalists. I’m not going back any time soon!” She also added: “I’m really concerned about my safety!” Akarçeşme spends most of her time abroad and not in Turkey, as she might get caught there for ‘building a terrorist organization’, a common accusation for critical journalists in Turkey.

In Turkey, there are currently at least 34 journalists in jail, all journalists who where critical of the government. According to Selcuk Gültasli, the majority of them are Kurdish. We asked Akarcesme about the current situation:

What should Europe do?

During the meeting in Brussels, Akarçeşme and her colleague Selcuk Gültasli also addressed the EU and urged the Union to act. “Of course it is a Turkish problem and us Turks have to act. But the EU has always been a catalyst!”, Gültasli said. “I’ve never seen the EU so hopeless as today. Now it’s Erdoğan who is telling the EU what to do!” They also directly criticized Angela Merkel and her contradictory acts. Merkel had always expressed her concerns about a Turkish EU membership. She even said she was against Turkey becoming a member state, but on the other hand she went to Turkey and visited President Erdoğan. “The EU should stop offering deals to Turkey, deals on a golden plate!”

With another EU summit coming up at the end of the week, which will also be attended by Turkish representatives, the journalists urged the EU to take stronger actions and put Turkey under pressure to no longer disregard human rights. “I’m sorry but especially when it comes to values, I currently can’t take any EU politician serious”, Akarçeşme added.

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