EU ‘sacrifices’ press freedom for Turkish help

Rights groups say migration plan ignores Turkey’s worsening record on human rights.

LONDON — It didn’t take long for the platitudes about press freedom to fall foul of the messy political reality of Europe’s migration crisis.

A day after stressing their commitment to free speech to mark World Press Freedom Day, European commissioners were accused of abandoning those principles to win the favor of one of the region’s most repressive autocrats.

The Commission’s recommendation on Wednesday that Turks be granted visa-free travel in the EU — seen by many as a major diplomatic concession to Ankara — was met with dismay by human rights activists and media groups, who accused them of kowtowing to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to secure his help in stopping the flow of migrants into Europe.

“Short-sightedly, the EU has cast aside its core values such as freedom of expression,” Katie Morris, head of Europe and Central Asia at human rights NGO Article 19, said. “It has thrown out its most dearly-held value, which renders hollow any future attempts to promote democracy within Europe or internationally.”

The Commission has “abandoned the many journalists, editors and writers in Turkey who face prosecution, imprisonment, harassment and even death for speaking out,” Jo Glanville, director of English PEN, a writers’ association, said.

Not only is the Commission’s pursuit of a deal with Erdoğan a betrayal of the Turkish media organizations and journalists that have been victimized by his administration, the critics said, it’s also a signal to other regimes that they can act with impunity against their critics — so long as Brussels needs their support.

The Commission may have felt it had little choice. Unless its people are allowed visa-free travel in Europe’s passport-free Schengen area, Turkey would refuse to cooperate on controlling migration.

Officials insisted the deal is conditional on Ankara making urgent progress to meet criteria it hasn’t already fulfilled, including controlling corruption and aligning its terrorism legislation with the rest of Europe. Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans insisted Turkey will not get a “free ride.”

Press freedom is not an explicit requirement for visa liberalization, only part of the bigger picture. Timmermans was nevertheless asked about it at a press conference Wednesday. He told journalists: “If they want to come closer to the European Union they will need to come closer to our norms.”

Pushing Turkey further away because of its human rights record would not be the answer, Timmermans said. Ankara is “going away from us on freedom of press. That needs to be changed, and it can only be changed if they come closer to us.”

“Just shouting at them and turning our backs on them will not improve the situation,” Timmermans said.

Jailed and gagged

Journalism, free speech and human rights groups, including Article 19, Index on Censorship and Reporters Without Borders, had urged the Commission not to strike any bargains with Turkey until it improves its treatment of the press.

Dozens of journalists have been imprisoned for writing critical articles, often under anti-terrorism laws. Others have lost their jobs or been stripped of official accreditation. In one of the most prominent cases, Can Dündar and Erdem Gül of the opposition daily Cumhuriyet are facing life sentences for espionage and divulging state secrets after they reported that Turkey had delivered arms to Islamist rebels in Syria.

Opposition-owned newspapers and broadcasters have been subjected to punitive taxation or seized by the government. In March, armed police stormed the offices of the biggest-selling daily paper, Zaman. Its editor was fired, new management brought in, and the editorial tone changed to be friendly to the government.

Erdoğan’s blunt suppression of his critics has even extended to pursuing journalists in Western Europe: namely the criminal investigation into the German comedian Jan Böhmermann, who extravagantly insulted the Turkish leader in a TV broadcast on March 31. Chancellor Angela Merkel last month agreed to a formal request by Turkey to launch a criminal investigation on charges that Böhmermann insulted a foreign head of state, prompting an angry debate about the limits of free expression.

In an interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit published Tuesday, Böhmermann accused Merkel of “serving me up for tea” by acceding to the Turkish demand. “The chancellor must not wobble when it comes to freedom of speech,” he said.

In Turkey, there are few critical voices left, analysts say. The EU’s failure to take a tough line with Erdoğan will encourage him to wipe out what is left of his critics, they fear.

“If everything will be given to the Turkish government I believe that the government and Erdoğan won’t hesitate to take over all the media landscape here in Turkey,” freelance journalist Banu Guven told BBC Radio 4’s Today program on Wednesday.

Nina Ognianova, of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said: “European Union leaders must make clear to the Turkish government that any concessions, such as visa-free travel to Europe, are conditioned on specific, meaningful steps by Turkey to improve press freedom at home.”

“It is overdue time for EU leaders to call on Turkey to reverse such actions as the forcible takeover of opposition media outlets, the politically motivated prosecution and imprisonment of journalists on trumped-up charges, the barring of foreign journalists from Turkey, and the arbitrary use of insult and anti-terror laws to punish critics.”

The Commission flagged concerns about Turkey’s treatment of the press in a “staff working document” accompanying its report on Turkey’s progress in fulfilling the requirements for being granted visa liberalization.

It noted: “The recurring arrests and prosecutions of journalists and academics on terrorist-related charges, including the provision on ‘making propaganda for a terrorist organization’ have a detrimental effect on freedom of expression and lead to self-censorship, as noted by the Commissioner for Human Rights in his recent statements on Turkey.”

However, press freedom was only one of many considerations as European leaders looked for a speedy solution to the migration crisis.

If it’s OK for Turkey…

NGOs are concerned there will be a long-term cost to their expediency. Media freedom is already deteriorating across the region, and it could get worse if the rights of journalists is seen as something Brussels is willing to trade away for political gain.

Overlooking Turkey’s violations could encourage others to stifle dissent in their countries. Of particular concern are states in the Balkans, including Serbia and Bosnia, which aspire to join the EU but have a poor record of protecting free speech. The EU has not done enough to “use the stick” to force those countries to improve their human rights record, Dunja Mijatovic, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s representative on freedom of the media, told POLITICO last month.

The Commission’s agreement with Turkey “sends a worrying message to the rest of the world that the EU will sacrifice its principles in the name of expediency,” Glanville, of English PEN, said Wednesday.

Turkey has until June to meet all the criteria for visa liberalization and the measure is likely to face opposition in the European Parliament, which has the power to block it.

Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group in the European Parliament, said it should not go ahead until the Turkish government stops undermining media outlets.

“Press freedom and freedom of expression are fundamental values of the European Union,” he said.