BY FERAI TINC
HURRIYET- Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday responded to Chief of General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug's recent call on everyone to act carefully and take the right stance. He said that we are at the 'right place' against terrorism and that people in the 'wrong place' should be worried. Turkey is in the midst of a very serious process. News stories are being put under wraps, people who ask questions are being painted as tendentious, and the General Staff is trying to put a lid on criticism. If opposing the use of violence as a political method is the right place, I'm there. But the 'right place' that I've been hearing about has nothing to do with this. This position of saying 'we'll decide where the right place is' serves to damage democracy, a force which can erode the basis of terrorism, as well of freedom of information, which is the indispensable condition for doing that.
A 2005 Committee of Ministers resolution by the Council of Europe, of which Turkey is a member, concerns freedom of expression and the press in the fight against terrorism. It would help us to reconsider this resolution, which stresses that terrorism threatens democracy, as it threatens the right to live, which is a basic human right. It also says charges to the effect that media organs which cover terrorism end up serving terrorism should be avoided. It says terrorism should not be used as a pretext for excessive restrictions on freedom of expression and the press. It says that the confidentiality of journalists' sources must be respected. It also cites Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, stating that the fight against terrorism shall not constitute a reason for the violation of this right.
It also says journalists should be briefed regularly and sufficiently and that restrictions on their access to the sites of news stories should be limited and temporary. It says that journalists' independence from political or economic pressure would help the media maintain editorial independence vis-a-vis their owners.
The same resolution also urges journalists to remember their responsibility not to endanger those who fight terrorism and to avoid a reporting style which might sow hostility and hatred. Among journalists' other responsibilities are resisting self-censorship. It also stresses that coverage of terrorist incidents should tell the facts, because only people who are properly informed can make good decisions and find the right place. If this place is found under the shadow of restrictions, it will always remain in doubt.