MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

 Amed (Diyarbakır)- The United Nations declared May 3 World Press Freedom Day in 1993. Since then May 3 is celebrated worldwide as World Press Freedom Day. Although freedom of the press is guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and under the Turkish Constitution, journalists and media workers in the country are continually subjected to all kinds of oppression. 44 journalists are currently behind bars in Turkey, according to the recent report released by the Dicle Fırat Journalists’ Association.

Seven of 44 imprisoned journalists are women. Two journalists were taken into custody, three journalists were subjected to ill-treatment, one journalist was threatened and another journalist was prevented from doing journalism, according to the report released by the Mesopotamia Women Journalists’ Association in March 2024. In April 2024, Mesopotamia Agency (MA) reporter Esra Solin Dal was imprisoned for her reports. In Turkey and Northern Kurdistan, journalists face all kinds of oppression such as arbitrary arrest and detention over terrorism charges for doing journalism.

NuJINHA spoke to Roza Metina, President of the Mesopotamia Women Journalists’ Association (Turkish: Mezopotamya Kadın Gazeteciler Derneği,MKG) about the World Press Freedom Day. “We welcome World Press Freedom Day by resisting oppression,” she said. “The governments in Turkey first target journalists when the country suffers from crises and depression.

“The World Press Freedom Day is an important day for journalists. The Kurdish journalists welcome this day by resisting attacks and oppression. Our colleagues were taken into custody in the house raids in Istanbul and Ankara on May 22. They were taken into custody because they do journalism. On the same day, two pro-Kurdish channels were raided in Belgium. These police raids were conducted on Kurdish Journalism Day and they are not a coincidence. The aim of this crackdown is to intimidate the Kurdish media.”

‘Women journalists are first targeted’

Women journalists are subjected to oppression in all facets of life, Roza Metinâ emphasized, adding, “They (the ruling party) first target women journalists to prevent their violations and corruption from being revealed. Women play an important role in society and everyone knows that when a woman improves herself, she also improves society and that when a woman struggles for the truth, she also affects her society. Women journalists are subjected to a systematic attack because they play an important role in journalism. Women journalists are prevented from doing their profession, subjected to threats and verbal harassment.”

‘We will always stand firm’

What is important is to grow the struggle and solidarity against oppression, underlined Roza Metina. “Despite all the attacks, we will keep doing journalism. These attacks are attacks on press freedom. The AKP/MHP government wants to send a message to the Kurdish people by attacking journalists. As women journalists, we will always stand firm against these attacks. Such policies never discourage us but make us stronger. We will keep doing journalism.”