Brussels, 04/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 4 November, European Parliament Vice-President Ulrike Lunacek (Greens/EFA, Austria) and Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muiznieks criticised restrictions to freedom of the media and expression in EU enlargement countries - particularly in Turkey.
“Without freedom, pluralism and transparency in the media, democracy does not work. It's a fake democracy. This concerns us in the Balkans, in Turkey, but also in the EU”, Lunacek said at the opening of the Speak Up conference.
Lunacek criticised the attacks on press in Turkey ahead of the elections there on 1 November. In her view, “what we have seen in Turkey has truly compromised what we call free and fair elections”. She underlined that the violation of human rights with regard to journalists “in a country like this is not acceptable. We can't disregard this”. According to Lunacek, “holding dialogue with the Turkish government without speaking about human rights is not acceptable”.
In Muiznieks' view, although there has been progress regarding the freedom of expression in Turkey thanks to the constitutional court, this progress is now thrown into question because the lawcourts are returning to the attack against journalists. He highlighted the arrests and dismissals of journalists from their jobs, the closure of a number of opposition media, and the censoring and pressure from the Turkish authorities on social media. Although a Turkish journalist has pointed at the Turkish president and prime minister, in Muiznieks' opinion, “the problem is not two people - it's much more serious”. He pointed at the judicial system. “Having a good law is not enough. A system is needed that protects the state less and the individual more”, he added.
He also said that freedom of the media in the Balkans has long been a cause for concern. “The police investigations must go as far as identifying the perpetrators and arresting them”, Muiznieks said, mentioning the threats to which journalists are still victim.
European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn stated that freedom of expression was “at the very core” of the European integration process and that it was “not negotiable”. The European Commission is due to publish the enlargement country progress reports soon. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)