The International Press Institute (IPI)’s Turkish National Committee today condemned a media blackout on news about a bomb attack on Saturday that killed 46 people in a town near Turkey’s border with Syria.
Turkish daily newspaper Hurriyet reported that Turkey’s broadcasting regulator, the Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTÜK), limited media coverage of the twin car bombings in the city of Reyhanli after local prosecutors obtained a court order banning “all kinds of voice, written and visual publications about the scenes of incidents after the blasts… including content and images of the injured and the dead”.
Reuters reported yesterday that Turkey’s government has accused a group with links to Syrian intelligence of detonating the two car bombs, which exploded in crowded shopping streets. Syria’s government has reportedly denied any role in the attack.
Turkish authorities have reportedly arrested nine people in connection with the attacks, all of whom are Turkish citizens.
Media blackout is censorship, should be abolished
The Turkish Republic Reyhanli court has imposed a media blackout on the news regarding the bomb attack in Reyhanli on 11 May, which killed 46 people and wounded many others, under the pretext of “protecting the confidentiality of the investigation”.
The court imposed this decision on the same day as the attack, stating that the blackout applies to “any news on the accident plot and any news regarding the dead or the wounded and any voiced broadcast or any video broadcast regarding the context of the incident”.
The public’s right to be informed and to acknowledge the reality on news of such an incident, which is very important in terms of its cause and effect, should not be banned for any reason whatsoever, including the “safety of the investigation”.
Moreover, in this age it is not possible for the ruling powers to attain any success in achieving their goal by media blackouts. Should the ruling power seek any benefit, the Reyhanli attack and its related developments should be openly discussed, including any findings on the incident.
We call on the court to abolish its censorship order, which is a shame to democracy.
