Brussels, 15/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Sunday 14 December, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn criticised the police raids and arrests of a number of journalists and media representatives in Turkey the same day. These operations are like a slap in the face for the EU representatives who were in Turkey on 8-9 December.
In the view of Mogherini and Hahn, these actions are “incompatible with the freedom of media, which is a core principle of democracy. We expect that the principle of presumption of innocence will prevail and recall the inalienable right for an independent and transparent investigation in case of any alleged wrongdoing, with full respect of the rights of the defendants”.
Mogherini and Hahn stated that “any further step towards accession with any candidate country depends on the full respect for the rule of law and fundamental rights”. On 8 December, Hahn had said that he was quite optimistic about the possibility of opening a new negotiation chapter by the end of June 2015 (see EUROPE 11214). “We expect the strong EU commitment given by our Turkish counterparts during our visit to be translated into deeds”, Mogherini and Hahn stated. They warned that they would express their concerns to the Council, which will discuss enlargement policy, including Turkey, on Tuesday.
Michel Lebrun, president of the Committee of the Regions and co-leader of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM), spoke of his “concern” following the arrests. “Democracy becomes stronger thanks to the freedom of the press”, he told Turkish media questioning him on the sidelines of the ARLEM session in Antalya on Monday 15 December (see other article).
This was also the response of the Council of Europe, expressed by its Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland, who said the Council of Europe is “always concerned when freedom of media is at risk and journalists are hindered in their work”. Jagland will visit Turkey on 6-7 January and discuss these events with the authorities.
On 14 December, Turkish police arrested around 20 people in 13 cities - including Ekrem Dumanli, the editor of one of the main daily newspapers, Zaman, and two former police chiefs. These people are reportedly close to President Erdogan's rival, Fethullah Gülen. In total, arrest warrants were handed out to 32 people, who were accused, among other things, of “forming a gang to try to undermine the sovereignty of the state”, according to Turkish news agency Anatolia. (CG/FB)