EP concerned over media censorship in Turkey

PanARMENIAN.Net - The European Parliament has adopted a resolution on the progress of Turkey with the support of a large majority of MEPs.

The resolution prepared by rapporteur Ria Oomen-Ruijten of the Netherlands, indicated that arrest of journalists such as Nedim Sener and Ahmet Sik could lead to lack of confidence in judiciary, adding that such trials, on the contrary, should strengthen the democracy in the country.

The European Parliament called on the high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to intensify the existing dialogue with Turkey on foreign policy issues of mutual interest since Turkey became a source of inspiration in the Arab world with its secularism and democracy.

The European Parliament welcomed the adoption of constitutional amendments as a step in the right direction, and urged their proper implementation with full observance of the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

It underlined at the same time, however, the pressing need for overall constitutional reform transforming Turkey into a fully fledged pluralistic democracy with the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms at its core

The parliament expressed its concerns about the deterioration in freedom of the press, about certain acts of censorship and about growing self-censorship within the Turkish media, including on the internet, and called on the Turkish government to uphold the principles of press freedom. It also underscored the need for adoption of a new media law addressing, inter alia, the issues of independence, ownership and administrative control, the Anatolian News Agency reports.