Press freedom and freedom of expression in Turkey have been threatened, but the United States has a vested interest in ensuring that Turkey protects its vibrant political discourse.
The issues of press freedom and freedom of expression in Turkey have for several years attracted a great deal of attention and provoked extensive debate both in Turkey and in other Western countries. Dozens of journalists critical of the government have been jailed, and hefty fines have been levied against media outlets seen as opposing the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP. The perceived deterioration of the situation has raised concerns about the course and character of Turkish democratic development.
This brief provides political context, historical background, and strategic analysis of this problem, and offers steps that the United States can take to help address the situation. The intention is to broaden the discussion and improve understanding of the issue among a wider audience, particularly in Washington, D.C., in the hopes of encouraging greater U.S. engagement. What follows is based on secondary research, extensive interviews with Turkish journalists, editors, and outside experts, and working-group meetings in Istanbul and Washington, bringing together prominent Turkish journalists and U.S. and European experts.
Our goal is not to provide an exhaustive exploration of the current state of press or media freedom in Turkey, nor is it to provide new data on the exact number of jailed journalists or the character of their alleged crimes. There are a number of informative reports that provide those details and include insights on the current state of press freedom in Turkey. Marc Pierini, a former EU ambassador to Turkey, has perhaps the most up-to-date and balanced study. The Committee to Protect Journalists plays an important role in tracking the exact number of jailed journalists, monitoring their legal status, and advocating on their behalf; their website and recent reports have detailed breakdowns of these issues. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the U.S. Department of State both exhaustively track the trials of journalists and evaluate the broader human-rights environment in Turkey, and their periodic reports contain a wealth of information.
By understanding the historical sensitivities feeding the current political crisis in Turkey, outlining the suppression of certain forms of political discourse, and examining the issue in the context of U.S. engagement with Turkey and the wider region, a new picture emerges. The United States wants Turkey to be a capable and secure democratic partner with whom it can engage the broader Middle East, and therefore it should more clearly voice its concerns about the deterioration of press freedom and freedom of expression in the domestic political context. Given the wave of popular mobilization in the region and the careful negotiations between the Turkish government and Kurdish separatists, it is more important than ever to preserve the democratic nature of the “Turkish model,” which we discuss in more detail below.
Historical context
To understand the current political situation and the importance of reinforcing democratic principles over the coming years, it is necessary to provide some historical context of press freedom and freedom of expression in Turkey.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, journalists were targeted and sometimes killed by actors ranging from ultranationalists to Islamists, far leftists to the Kurdish Workers’ Party, or PKK, who seek Kurdish autonomy and greater legal and cultural protections. Current Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s AKP has successfully defused much of the violence that characterized the extreme polarization of Turkish society in those years since coming to power in 2003. But the 2007 murder of Turkish-Armenian editor Hrant Dink, shot outside his newspaper’s offices in Istanbul for advocating official recognition of the Armenian genocide, served as a reminder that the violence underlying political tensions and freedom of expression in Turkey has not disappeared.
The Kurdish issue
The “Kurdish issue,” as it is delicately referred to in Turkey, is one major historical legacy shaping the current political environment and affecting press freedom. Approximately 15 million Kurds—an ethnic and linguistic minority inhabiting parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran—live in Turkey today, with the vast majority being fully integrated into Turkish society and many living in major urban centers, particularly Istanbul.
Despite widespread acceptance of Kurds and their integration with broader Turkish society, for decades the ultranationalist Turkish state attempted to suppress Kurdish cultural and linguistic diversity, banning, for example, the use of the Kurdish language until 1991. The remnants of this repression remain visible, as the politics surrounding the Kurdish language and culture are still hotly debated, particularly in the heavily Kurdish southeast, and nationalists continue to use fears of Kurdish autonomy to appeal politically to older Turks raised on strict Kemalist doctrine. The PKK, a far-left guerilla group labeled a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, has also exploited these fears to continue their decades-long struggle for Kurdish independence and autonomy. More than 40,000 people have died in this fight since the 1980s. Several peace initiatives have been introduced and failed over the past decade, and violence, while down from its peak in the mid-1990s, has continued.
The AKP has worked to address some of the cultural concerns of the Kurdish minority, allowing the use of Kurdish language and permitting peaceful Kurdish political mobilization. Nonetheless, most Turks have been educated in highly nationalist curriculums and remember the violence of the PKK movement, and are thus deeply wary of any hint of separatism. This has led to pressure on the AKP to continue security operations against the PKK and to avoid concessions to the Kurds. The extreme sensitivity of the Kurdish issue in Turkish politics means it bleeds into areas such as freedom of the press. Many reporters or editors reporting on PKK activities or discussing Kurdish cultural or political activities have faced censorship, arrest, threats, or outright violence.
In this context, shaping a lasting and peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue has proved difficult. The past six months have seen considerable progress, however: A ceasefire negotiated between the government and Abdullah Ӧcalan, the PKK’s jailed leader, has led to a wider peace initiative and the best chance for a settlement since the conflict began.
Since the AKP’s electoral success in 2002, the country has seen a remarkable period of economic growth, political reform, and relative stability. This has given the party the chance to institutionalize the changes it has brought to the Turkish state such as greater legal and cultural recognition of Kurdish and Armenian minorities. The party was formed as a broad alliance of religious conservative parties that were previously banned under Turkey’s secular constitution, members of the newly emergent Anatolian middle class, social conservatives, and liberal elements that were frustrated with the incumbent Republican People’s Party, or CHP.
Electoral success and economic growth has also made Prime Minister Erdoğan one of the most influential leaders in the Middle East. This clout was visible during his tour of the Arab world following the upheavals of 2011—he was greeted by cheering throngs at nearly every step. His and Turkey’s popularity increased talk of a “Turkish model” of democratic development, secular government compatible with Islamic conservatism, and economic growth. The Turkish model means many things to many people throughout the region but is undoubtedly one narrative open to moderates seeking to shape new political cultures in the wake of the Arab Spring.[1]
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