Saturday

13th Feb 2021

Turkey PM speaks of press freedom despite crackdown

  • Davutoglu (l) warned against the stigmatisation of Muslims in Europe (Photo: European council)

Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday (15 January) said freedom of speech is as much valued in Turkey as in the West so long as it doesn’t insult Islam.

He spoke as prosecutors launched an investigation into the Cumhuriyet newspaper after it published four pages from Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical magazine whose Paris office was attacked by Islamist extremists for its Mohammed cartoons.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

"Freedom of the press does not mean freedom to insult," Davutoglu said in Ankara, before heading to Brussels for talks with EU Council president Donald Tusk on Turkey's stalled EU-membership bid.

“We do not allow any insult to the prophet in this country," he added.

A court in Turkey on Wednesday ordered a block on websites featuring images of the latest Charlie Hebdo cover, which depicts a mourning prophet Mohammed with the headline “All is forgiven”.

Davutoglu's comments come amid an increasing clampdown on press freedom.

Around 60 journalists were dismissed or fired for their coverage of the Gezi Park protests in the summer of 2013.

In December of the same year, journalists were pursued for reporting on high-level government corruption, which intensified after police raided government offices in a graft scandal that implicated Turkey’s president.

The scandal led to tougher Internet laws and a temporary ban on Twitter.

Dozens of reporters, many of them Kurds, have been imprisoned or remain in jail on anti-terrorism laws.

The events have put Turkey near the bottom of Reporters Without Borders’ press freedom index.

In Brussels, Davutoglu told reporters that Turkey stands by the people of France and Europe in the fight against terrorism.

“In Paris [at the Charlie Hebdo protest march] we stood shoulder to shoulder together … We don’t want to see any extremist approach, whether this [attack] or a Pegida approach against Islam”, he said, referring to the German anti-Islamisation movement.

“Freedom of speech is our common value”, he added.

Tusk, for his part, said the determination to defend the freedom of thought has intensified in the wake of the Paris attack.

“In light of the Paris terrorist attacks, our determination to defend our fundamental values, including freedom of thought, expression, and of the media, has only grown greater,” he said.

Meanwhile, in France, authorities have cracked down on some who are seen as promoting terrorism due to their views on Charlie Hebdo.

French comedian Dieudonne M’bala M’bala was detained by police on Wednesday after posting “I feel like Charlie Coulibaly” on his Facebook page, which he later removed.

Coulibaly, part of the Charlie Hebdo gang, killed a policeowman and four Jewish civilians.

Bernard Cazeneuve, the French minister of the interior, said the comment had showed “irresponsibility, disrespect and a propensity to fuel hatred and division that is simply unbearable”.

But Pope Francis on Thursday also said freedom of expression has limits and should not insult a person’s religion.

He noted that if his assitant insulted his mother, he would punch him in the head.

Opinion

My boss, the 'terrorist'

Only Russia ranks lower than Turkey in terms of press freedom in Europe, as Erdogan becomes ever more brazen.

News in Brief

  1. EU sets 21 September goal for 70% adult vaccination
  2. Russian bombers put Nato jets on alert
  3. Amsterdam overtakes London as Europe's trading hub
  4. Greece seeks Gulf allies over tension with Turkey
  5. UK bank chief urges EU to drop City trading restrictions
  6. 500 scientists urge EU to stop burning trees for energy
  7. Belgium extends non-essential travel ban to 1 April
  8. France warns Iran against further nuclear breaches

Feature

Covid-hit homeless find Xmas relief at Brussels food centre

The Kamiano food distribution centre in Brussels is expecting 20 people every half hour on Christmas Day. For many, Kamiano is also more than that - a support system for those made homeless or impoverished.

Top court finds Hungary and Poland broke EU rules

EU tribunal said Hungary's legislation made it "virtually impossible" to make an asylum application. Restricting access to international protection procedure is a violation of EU rules.

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic Council to host EU webinars on energy, digitalisation and antibiotic resistance
  2. UNESDAEU Code of Conduct can showcase PPPs delivering healthier more sustainable society
  3. CESIKlaus Heeger and Romain Wolff re-elected Secretary General and President of independent trade unions in Europe (CESI)
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersWomen benefit in the digitalised labour market
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersReport: The prevalence of men who use internet forums characterised by misogyny
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic climate debate on 17 November!

Latest News

  1. High noon for EU diplomats in Moscow on Sunday
  2. US deaf to Germany on Russia pipeline
  3. French liberal MEPs silent on EU weapons in Yemen
  4. France 'got its way' as Portugal ends e-Privacy deadlock
  5. EU sees stronger recovery - if vaccine roll-out works
  6. Close loopholes on foreign funding of EU political parties
  7. Polish editor: Why I blacked out my front page
  8. UN agency demands EU stop violence against migrants

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us