09.10.1997

Turkish state attacks freedom of the press

Emek is a Turkish daily newspaper, which has been under constant attack from the Turkish state since it began publishing. Here the London office of Emek reports on the latest round of brutal repression

The attacks and wave of terror of the Turkish state against the daily newspaper Emek, which is published both in Turkey and Europe, are increasing. The distribution of the newspaper in Kurdish provinces has been prevented for eight days by the state security forces.

The vehicles of the Yaysat distribution company were stopped at the entrance to Diyarbakir by police from the Pirinclik station and all copies of the newspaper were confiscated. Harassment and repression of the distribution company is aimed at stopping the circulation of Emek. The paper was barred entry to Kurdish provinces such as Tunceli and Diyarbakir for seven days in September and at the beginning of October.

Last week the Diyarbakir office of the paper was raided twice by armed civilian state forces. The workers and reporters in the Diyabakir office at that time were harassed and threatened. Emek knows that those carrying out these attacks are counter-guerrilla members who hide their faces in the structure of the Turkish state. These people have in the past killed fellow journalists Namik Taranci and Musa Anter. In total 25 journalists have been killed by different methods, including disappearances in custody, over the last 10 years. The same murderers are now looking forward to new massacres.

The Turkish State Security Court (DGM) has taken the daily newspaper to court 55 times in the last 11 months, demanding jail sentences and the banning of our paper. To date 14 issues of the paper have been banned and cartoonist Ertan Aydin has been sentenced to 11 months and 20 days imprisonment. Fines of billions of Turkish liras against Emek and sentences of hundreds of years are demanded against our editor and writers.