Prime Minister Dr. Dervis Eroglu
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Lefkosa (Nicosia)
Cyprus

Vienna, 18 May 2000

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors and journalists, condemns the continued persecution and harassment of the Turkish Cypriot newspaper AVRUPA.

Over the last twelve months, AVRUPA, a daily newspaper published and circulated in northern Cyprus, has suffered numerous judicial attempts to close down the paper and drive it into insolvency. The paper is the defendant in countless civil and criminal proceedings. As a consequence of these actions, AVRUPA is the victim of systematic judicial harassment unparalleled in the history of the Cypriot media.

In 1999, AVRUPA was ordered by a court to pay US$ 260,000 in damages to the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Rauf Denktash, for a report held by the courts to be defamatory. The paper has steadfastly refused to pay these damages. Moreover, further charges were preferred against the paper before a Turkish military court for having denounced the authoritarian actions of the Turkish military and the Denktash leadership. At present, there are 75 criminal proceedings outstanding against AVRUPA. In each of these lawsuits, a five year term of imprisonment has been demanded by the prosecution.

On 16 May, due to the paper’s refusal to pay damages to Mr. Denktash, bailiffs seized the paper’s office equipment and furniture. As a result of this action, the paper was prevented from publishing its daily edition.

In another act of harassment, the military and the leadership of Mr. Denktash prevented a meeting between the president of the Union of Cyprus Journalists and the editor-in chief of AVRUPA. The meeting was to have taken place at the checkpoint between north and south Cyprus, at Nicosia.

IPI strongly believes that the use of defamation laws to bludgeon newspapers into submission is contrary to the principles of freedom of expression. A democratic society needs objective and informed comment on its political processes; defamation suits filed by politicians inhibit free speech and prevent discussion on matters of public concern. Furthermore, any leader of a ruling party has ample opportunity to defend himself from criticism by other means, for example, responding directly to any allegations. Damages must also be proportionate to the damage to reputation and should never be so high as to threaten the existence of the offending media outlet.

Concerning destrainment of goods, the courts should give due regard to Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states, “everyone has the right to work”. The seizure of office equipment is contrary to this principle as it prevents workers from using the “tools of their trade”, thus denying them the opportunity to work.

IPI calls on your Excellency to set aside the claim for damages against AVRUPA and to return the destrained office equipment, so that the paper may continue to operate its legitimate business.

We thank you for your attention.

Johann P. Fritz
Director