H.E. Rauf Raif Denktash
President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Office of the President
Lefkosa
Cyprus

Vienna, 25 May 2001

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors and media executives, strongly condemns a bomb attack on a newspaper in northern Cyprus.

On 24 May, a bomb exploded at the printing office of opposition newspaper Avrupa. The bomb caused serious damage to the building and set off a fire which destroyed 300 kg of printing paper, old newspapers, newsprint and other printing equipment. The bomb also shattered windows in a nearby building. There were no injuries in the explosion and police say that no one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Avrupa has been targeted frequently in the past in apparent response to the newspaper’s critical reporting of the government in the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

The owner and editor-in-chief of Avrupa, Sener Levent, and several of the newspaper’s reporters were arrested on 8 July 2000 for “espionage activities” and “attempts to infiltrate military circles.” The journalists were later acquitted. In addition, office equipment has been seized from the newspaper, several defamation suits have been brought against the newspaper and in December 1999 a court fined Avrupa US$ 260,000 for allegedly libelling Your Excellency. Moreover, there have been numerous judicial attempts to close down the newspaper, and its staff have received several threats as a result of Avrupa’s criticism of the self-proclaimed authorities in northern Cyprus.

IPI believes that the attack against Avrupa is in gross violation of everyone’s right to “seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media” as guaranteed by Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and that it is a callous attempt to silence the newspaper. Therefore, IPI urges the authorities in northern Cyprus to ensure that there is a swift and thorough investigation into this matter and that those guilty are brought to justice. We further urge that all possible steps are taken to guarantee that journalists covering events in northern Cyprus are allowed to report freely and without fear of harassment.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director