We will deliver the truth to all kinds of people
Pioneer DURMUŞ
The Palace administration, which has increased the pressure on the country at full speed, is also trying to prevent the truth from reaching the public. The regime, which has used the judiciary as an instrument in attacks against the opposition, is also trying to silence the opposition media through RTÜK .
This blockade, which was expanded on the media in parallel with the investigations launched one after another, especially against the opposition, was evaluated as an effort by the regime to prevent the public from learning the truth. It is no coincidence that the channels that reveal everything that is happening in the country and convey the truth to the public, from operations carried out with trumped-up accusations to negligence in the earthquake; from fire disasters to corruption; and from the economic crisis to the vital problems of the public, are being targeted. The attacks on the media have become part of the regime's attempts to stay on its feet, as it will be unable to convince the public in the face of all these problems. The penalties imposed on Sözcü and Halk TV and the fact that the two channels will be blacked out for 10 days starting from the night of July 8 are the latest examples of this oppression.
Halk TV was served a broadcast suspension penalty the day before on the grounds that the statements made by Atomic Engineer Tolga Yarman in the program “Uncensored with Sinem Fıstıkoğlu”, “Turkey is not becoming religious, it is becoming sectarian” and “We have been incited against Iran since the naming of the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge”, “incite the public to hatred and hostility”. The current stay of execution decision on the 10-day screen blackout penalty given to Sözcü TV was lifted by the decision of the Ankara 7th Administrative Court. It was learned that if the channels receive the same penalties during the year, they may face license cancellations.
INDEPENDENT MEDIA'S PROBLEMSSpeaking about the penalties, RTÜK President Ebubekir Şahin implied that they imposed penalties because the channels did not abandon their broadcasting policies. Şahin said, “The Radio and Television Supreme Council has repeatedly warned broadcasters, especially Halk TV, Tele1 and Sözcü TV. These warnings, which were made clearly, explicitly and constructively, have been persistently ignored. Beyond the violation, these broadcasts, which have become an obstinacy with the law, have continued unabated.”
THEY WANT TO SILENCEReactions to the expanding blockade of the media continue to rise. The Board of Directors of the Turkish Journalists Association (TGC) drew attention to the fact that RTÜK’s decision to suspend broadcasting for Halk TV and Sözcü TV for 10 days is a heavy blow to the freedom of the press and freedom of expression under the protection of the Constitution.
The TGC Board of Directors’ statement reads, “These decisions suspend the public’s right to receive news. RTÜK’s unjust and unlawful double-screen blackout aims to silence not only journalists but the entire society. It is a heavy blow to the freedom of the press and freedom of thought guaranteed by the Constitution. It is unacceptable for RTÜK to exceed its authority and make decisions for political reasons. Such practices are the clearest indication that public power has been transformed into a censorship mechanism.”
THIS SOUND CANNOT BE MUTEDCHP Presidential Candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu also released a statement on the subject on his social media account. İmamoğlu said, “Halk TV and Sözcü TV are the voices of millions of people who shout out the truth despite all the pressure in this country. That voice cannot be silenced, the truth cannot be covered up by obscuring it.” CHP Chairman Özgür Özel said in a message he sent to Sözcü TV, “Sözcü Television reports on the real issues of this country and nation. Therefore, it is not Sözcü Television that is being punished, but the truth itself.” In his message of support to Halk TV, he said, “Our people stand with the independent media that makes their voices heard, Halk TV, not with the March 19 coup plotters who diminish their bread and disturb their peace.”
THE PLACE WHERE EVERY REGIME THAT BECAME 'UNITED' IS STROKED
Halk TV Editor-in-Chief Suat Toktaş also evaluated the attacks against them. Stating that “one of the indispensable institutions of democracy is the free press,” Toktaş said, “A free and independent press is not only a tool for the people’s right to receive news, but also the most important tool independent of all the ‘powers’ that control all kinds of political, military, economic and bureaucratic power. Unfortunately, there are many examples in history that show where every regime that has weakened its control mechanism and become ‘unitary’ has drifted. Halk TV has tried and continues to try to fulfill both the most basic function of journalism, the ‘duty of control on behalf of the people’, and to be the voice of the people.” Toktaş made the following statements: “In İliç, Soma, Van, Hatay, Diyarbakır, Artvin, Silivri, Ankara, İstanbul, İzmir… Everywhere in Türkiye, we have always stood by the people and been their voice. This must be why every broadcast of ours is being scrutinized and a place to punish them is being sought. We have been subjected to heavy penalties due to the words of our live broadcast guests or the leader of a party or a politician, ignoring the established decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and the Constitutional Court. Now we are faced with the threat of the channel being completely shut down. RTÜK has imposed a 10-day blackout on Halk TV due to the words of the live broadcast guest on many other channels in a program where the Iran-Israel war was discussed. The next step will be the cancellation of the license, in other words, the complete closure of the channel.”
“Of course, we will use all our legal rights. We will apply to the Administrative Court for a stay of execution. Halk TV wants to believe that the law still works. We expect and hope that this censorship will be overturned by the courts based on the decisions of the ECHR and the Constitutional Court.
If the judiciary is complicit in this blackout attempt, Halk TV will go completely black on Tuesday, July 8th at 23:59:59. Until today, we have tried to stand by every segment of society and make their voices heard with the slogan "You Are Not Alone". Now, we want to see that we are not alone.
We call on our viewers, journalists and politicians who do not want to lose their right to know, who stand for freedom, pluralism and against censorship, to stand in solidarity with Halk TV.”
THEY CANNOT STOP US
Sözcü TV Editor-in-Chief Özgür Çakmakçı also said, “Our job is to do journalism.” Çakmakçı said, “We do not write press releases, we do not do public relations work. I am saying this not only for Sözcü TV, but also for other independent media outlets such as BirGün, Halk TV, Tele1, which only think about doing journalism, aim for it and earn money with it. We are all doing journalism and naturally we are dealing with the consequences of this in Türkiye.”
Çakmakçı spoke as follows: “In the last 8 months, we have received our 16th fine as Sözcü TV. When we do a simple calculation, we receive an average of 2 fines per month, and we receive this because we are doing journalism. These fines can be fines or broadcast suspensions. Since they do not like broadcasting, the government used to impose fines to intimidate and stop the broadcast. Now the broadcast suspensions have started. The screens go black, the announcers cannot appear on the screen. They do not let us do our job, the job of journalism, they prevent us from doing it. This is just like telling a doctor ‘you will not perform surgery anymore’; they tell us ‘don’t make news’. We have gotten used to 2 fines every month, but this latest fine has a different, detailed situation. After receiving the fine, we applied for a stay of execution and this decision was made. However, this stay of execution was later combined with another existing fine and the stay of execution was deemed invalid. The case was referred to a new court, and then the notification came. In other words, we have already applied for a stay of execution and we have not applied for another fine. By referring us to court, they caused us to be punished again for the same reason.
But my opinion is that there is something involved. For example, Halk TV and Sözcü TV being closed on the same day… There has been something rising for months and when we add all of these up and look at the broad picture, we see that there is something else involved. But we are used to it, I hope these fines will not increase even more. The citizens', the people's freedom to receive news will not be restricted even more. Free news channels are the windpipes and what happens if they are cut off from the lives of the citizens, if they are blocked? We know what happens to a person whose windpipe is blocked.
Inside, people are upset because we won't be able to do journalism, because we will be away for 10 days... But journalism doesn't die; you take a photo or a video on the street, throw it somewhere and you've done something again. We have a saying: 'If they darken us, we'll take a flashlight and continue to light the streets.'
"We will all continue to do journalism in some way. We don't know anything else."
BirGün
