H. E. Tansu Ciller
Prime Minister of Turkey
Prime Minister’s Office
Ankara
Turkey

Vienna, 22 September 1995

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors and media executives from newspapers, magazines, broadcasting organisations and news agencies in 85 countries, strongly condemns the campaign of legal harassment your government is waging against an American journalist working for Reuters.

We are informed that Ms. Aliza Marcus is to be forced to undergo trial by a state security court beginning 12 October under charges of “inciting racial enmity and hatred” in an article she wrote last November If convicted, Ms. Marcus would face one to three years in prison.

In her article, Ms. Marcus wrote that “forcibly evacuating and even torching Kurdish villages in southeastern Turkey is now a central part of the military’s 10-year battle against Kurdish rebels.” The Turkish government’s sensitivity about media coverage of the Kurdish conflict is well documented and has provided cause for IPI protests in the past. Western journalists have rarely, if ever, been charged under Turkey’s security laws, but hundreds of Turkish journalists, writers and intellectuals have been unjustly taken to court and imprisoned for their reporting or views on the conflict. The Turkish government’s consistent response to criticism has been to attempt to silence it.

IPI urges that you investigate the validity of Ms. Marcus’ claims before attempting to expand the usage of legal sanctions to silence her. We further urge that you disclose any findings in connection with your investigation.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director