White House concerned over arrest of Turkish journalists
The WHITE HOUSE
Date posted: December 16, 2014
White House has expressed concerns over the arrest of Turkish journalists, including Zaman daily editor-in-chief Ekrem Dumanlı, called on Ankara to conduct investigations in a manner consistent with the rule of law.
“We noted with concern the arrests of a number of journalists and other members of the media over the weekend,” White House National Security Council spokesman, Mark Stroh, said in a statement on Monday. He added that Washington has long maintained that freedom of the press is an essential element in all healthy, successful democracies.
“We urge the Turkish authorities to conduct investigations quickly, transparently, and in a manner consistent with the rule of law,” the statement stated.
Turkish media has been facing an unprecedented crackdown as the executives of Turkey’s two leading media outlets have been, since Sunday, in custody and are being questioned as part of a government-orchestrated police operation that has dealt a heavy blow to freedom of the press.
Dumanlı, Samanyolu Broadcasting Group General Manager Hidayet Karaca along with other journalists, scriptwriters, columnists, producers were detained in a sweeping operation on Sunday.
One of the main problems that Turkish and foreign interlocutors of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan complain of is that he employs fiery rhetoric, with a special emphasis on drama, to score points with his home base of political Islamists, a narrow minority within his popular ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
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Such movements, especially if they’re Muslim, attract suspicion in the West. In 2008, the Dutch government began investigating Hizmet. Its conclusions were that the movement isn’t involved in terrorism or a breeding ground for radicalism, nor does it oppose integration of Muslims into secular states. In 2015, MLK’s alma mater, Morehouse College, awarded its Gandhi King Ikeda Peace Award to Gülen for his lifelong commitment to peace among nations. But Erdogan insists that Gülen is a terrorist.
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Turkey’s ability to stop Kanter from living in the U.S. or playing in the NBA is basically non-existent. The U.S. won’t allow Turkey to extradite him. But Erdoğan’s government has an ulterior motive in attempting to intimidate Kanter. “The point of this exercise is to let Turks around the world know that none of them are safe, that they should not speak out against the government,” Joshua Landis said.
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