The Global Coordinating Committee of Press Freedom Organizations, at its meeting held in Vienna, Austria, on 17 June, 2011, agreed to adopt the following resolutions on the Americas and Turkey by unanimous vote of the members present.
Members who voted in favour of the resolutions included representatives from the International Press Institute (IPI), the International Association of Broadcasting, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the World Press Freedom Committee, FIPP – the worldwide magazine media association, and the Inter American Press Association.
Deterioration in Freedom of Expression in the Americas
WHEREAS
freedom of expression and of the press, the right to live in freedom, safety and protection under the law are fundamental principles of the people recognized and guaranteed by international treaties, among them the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the American Convention On Human Rights
WHEREAS
in the Americas it has become evident that the enemies of press freedom – organized crime and authoritarian governments – are taking actions to control information and restrict news media, bringing about a climate of tension
WHEREAS
drug trafficking and other illegal activities are the source of violence, abductions, threats and murders of journalists which this year have cost the lives of more than a dozen news men and women, and lack of punishment for these crimes is leading to the serious consequence of self-censorship
WHEREAS
some Latin American governments have passed laws that restrict freedom of expression and the right to receive information, as well as the freedom and independence of news media
WHEREAS
some governments are creating or unduly expropriating news media, turning them into propaganda apparatus and using public resources as if they were their own or penalizing those who do not hew the official line
THE COORDINATING COMMITTEE RESOLVES
to reiterate its concern at the deterioration in freedom of expression and of the press in the Americas, which does not comply with what is enshrined in the political constitutions and international treaties on human rights
to call on the legislative branches of government to enact specific laws to combat impunity, not to pass legislation that restricts press freedom, as a matter of urgency review and abolish laws that restrict the work of journalists and to ask the judicial branches to be rigorous in investigations and in the full administration of justice
to encourage inter-American bodies, such as the Organization of American States, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Union of South American Nations, Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of the Americas, among others, to take concrete action to defend freedom of expression and of the press, not as a privilege for journalists and news media but as a natural right of human beings that should be guaranteed for the full development of democracy and that is stipulated as an essential condition in the Inter-American Democratic Charter.
Resolution Calling on Turkey to Respect Freedom of the Press
WHEREAS
many journalists facing criminal charges in Turkey, particularly those detained in connection with the Ergenekon* probe, have not been informed of the charges they face, nor have their attorneys, and many of those journalists are subject to lengthy pre-trial imprisonment
WHEREAS
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has publicly affirmed Turkey’s commitment to press freedom, but has publicly impugned the motives of those who exercise such freedoms, accusing them of defamation
WHEREAS
such statements, accompanied by raids on Turkish journalists’ homes and businesses, create a climate of fear among journalists
THE COORDINATING COMMITTEE RESOLVES
that journalists’ right to cover sensitive topics, including national security, is fundamental, and that those who do not engage in criminal activity should not face arrest, charges, imprisonment or any other harassment or intimidation for doing their job
that the Turkish government should make public any allegations of criminal activity by journalists, and allow the accused to confront such evidence in a timely manner in an open and fair hearing that complies with international standards of due process
that Turkey should not criminalize speech and should allow journalists to subject government action to independent and open scrutiny and all forms of media including online
that the Turkish government should release any journalists who have been imprisoned because of their work, and that Turkish authorities should use care in their statements about allegations against journalists in order to avoid inflammatory rhetoric that renders even more difficult an honest evaluation of charges against journalists
*Ergenekon is the name given to an alleged clandestine, Kemalist ultra-nationalist organization in Turkey with possible ties to members of the country’s military and security forces. The group, named after Ergenekon, a mythical place located in the inaccessible valleys of the Altay Mountains, is accused of terrorism in Turkey (Source: Wikipedia)
