According to Arslan, the Washington representative of the Bugün daily two advisors of President Erdoğan said, “your existence is a crime,” in reference to journalists critical of the government.
Yavuz and Aslan, the Washington representative of the Zaman daily, were trying to report on the meeting between Erdoğan and US vice president Joe Biden in the Peninsula Hotel in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Erdoğan has in the past blocked journalists and media outlets critical of the government -- such as the Zaman and İpekmedia groups – from attending or covering important political events normally open to the press.
The two journalists had been waiting in the lobby along with other journalists during the meeting. However, according to Arslan, advisor to the president Mustafa Varank first insulted and swore at the journalist and then ordered the president's nephew Ali Erdoğan -- who is working as the president's bodyguard -- to take Arslan out of the hotel. The reporter said the younger Erdoğan swore at him in front of everybody in the hotel's lobby and forced him outside.
Speaking to the Bugün TV network on a live broadcast on Thursday night, Arslan reported that as he was waiting outside the hotel, two men in civilian dress started to kick and threaten him. After a while, two of Erdoğan's advisors arrived and they verbally attacked and threatened him and attempted to attack him physically.
“As I was telling one of my colleagues outside the hotel about the incident, two civilians deliberately ran into me and tried to grab me. Although I had not said a word to them, they kicked and swore at me. When I asked who they were, they told me to never mind who they were. They told me to go with them and threatened me by saying, ‘you don't have the right to live.' Then, [Erdoğan advisors] Şenol Kazancı and Aydın Ünal came and verbally attacked me. They said that our existence is a crime,” Arslan said on Bugün TV Thursday evening.
Erdoğan's bodyguards also verbally attacked and attempted to physically attack Zaman's Aslan in the hotel, but he was rescued by American police officers.
Aslan told reporters following the attack that he left the hotel of his own accord in order not to disturb the peace after the tension.
Aslan later tweeted: “American police officers came and protected me from Erdoğan's bodyguards. Then, I left the hotel of my own accord so as not to disturb the piece. Erdoğan's bodyguards attempted to follow me as I was leaving the hotel with American police officers as escorts, and another American police officer prevented the bodyguards from attacking me.”
Aslan reported after the incident that when the Turkish bodyguards insisted that he should leave the hotel since he was not wanted there, a couple of junior hotel staff asked him to leave because he was not a customer. In response, Aslan ordered a lemonade, which consequently meant he was a lobby customer. However, Erdoğan's security force kept asking him to leave claiming Aslan was a security threat. “I am unarmed, how can I constitute a threat?” Aslan asked as he reminded police officers of his constitutional rights. After speaking with a police officer, Aslan complied with his suggestion to leave the hotel to protect his own security.
Attack indicates Erdoğan's intolerance for criticism
International press advocacy body ARTICLE 19 has said it is "appalled" by a verbal and physical attack by any government official on a representative of the press."It is imperative that a government official, in any capacity, respect a journalist's right to carry out their work," ARTICLE 19 said, recalling an open letter few days ago it penned with other free speech organizations that called on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to use his influence "to foster a culture where freedom of expression can flourish and where Turkey’s talented community of writers, journalists and publishers can exercise their right to freedom of expression freely and without fear of intimidation."
Talking to Today's Zaman, Karin Karlekar from Freedom House said that the institution condemns attacks on journalist wherever they take place. According to her, the most recent attack on journalists is "indicative of Erdoğan's views on the press and his intolerance of criticism or questioning."
Commenting to Today's Zaman on the incident, which speaks of new lows on media pressure by Erdoğan, Jo Glanville, the director of English PEN, said, “The intimidation of Turkish journalists covering President Erdoğan's visit to the United Nations is unacceptable.” Pointing out that in the same week Erol Özkoray, the author of a book on the Gezi protests, received a suspended sentence for defaming President Erdoğan, Glanville said that English PEN is concerned with the consistent failure of the government to safeguard freedom of expression in Turkey. He added that “space for opposition, criticism and dissent is essential in a healthy democracy.”
After the incident in New York, Arslan told Bugün TV late on Thursday that he will ask for the footage of the security cameras at the hotel to file a complaint.
The president of the Press Council in Turkey, Pınar Türenç, condemned the attack on the two journalists by Erdoğan's nephew and bodyguards. Türenç said that the attacks are unacceptable in terms of the freedom of press. In a written statement on Friday, Türenç asked the following about the actions of the president's nephew: Does the person who insulted journalists who were doing their job and forced them out of a hotel have an official status in the Presidency? Does he have a role aside from being the relative of the president? Based on what right was he able to force journalists out?
Türenç urged all to defend the freedom of media and expression, and said informing journalists with accurate information is more necessary than targeting them.
Another major media organization in Turkey, the Turkish Journalists Association (TGC) said in a statement on Friday that it is unfortunate for an administration to make restrictions a rule in terms of press freedoms. Stating that the TGS has always been against restrictions, it said the government has been directly preventing critical journalists from performing their duties. It urged the government to stop putting restrictions on press outlets.
Doğan Akın, one of the founders of independent media association Punto 24, told Today's Zaman that the attack on the journalists is not acceptable, but was not surprised to hear about such an incident given the direction of media freedoms in Turkey. According to him, the physical attack on journalists by Erdoğan's bodyguards is just an addition to already existing media pressure.
Arslan said on TV that he particularly resented the silence and indifference of his fellow journalists who traveled to New York on the private plane of President Erdoğan. Akın said that in Turkey, many journalists do not care about the restrictions placed on their colleagues as long as they are not affected by them.
According to Akın, the bigger problem in Turkey is the vulnerability of media owners to government pressure due to their business interests in other fields. They are using journalism as a tool to promote their other interests, Akın said.
The attack on the two Turkish journalists took place just days after Turkey agreed to the adoption of a resolution on the safety of journalists by the UN Human Rights Council with the support of 90 cosponsoring states on Sept. 19. The resolution aims to protect the safety of journalists by sending a message to the states that “there is no excuse for allowing attacks and murders of journalists and media workers to go unpunished.”
Social media has also been abuzz regarding the attack on the two journalists as well.
Published on Today's Zaman
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