Eser Uyansiz is the owner of Azadiya Welat, the Kurdish daily paper which recently received yet another closure order by a Turkish Court. Istanbul District Court ordered Azadiya Welat to be shut down for one month for making PKK / Kongra Gel propaganda.
Life for Kurdish media has always been hard. And yet Kurdish journalists instead of bowing to the pressure keeps up the fight and use creativity to counter repression. Repression which often means been detained, beaten, and even killed.
Published in the city of Diyarbakir since 1994, the newspaper Azadiya Welat, or Independent Homeland, shut down for the eighth time.
This is the third shut down verdict against Azadiya Welat since January 2010.
The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly challenged decisions by the Turkish courts.
EU officials say the prevailing culture among judges and prosecutors, and the severity of several articles in the criminal code, pose serious obstacles to Turkey's bid for EU membership.
But despite many promises, the government has so far made little progress in reforming the judiciary.
Later last year Azadiya Welat hit the news once again for a case or repression. Vedat Kursun, former chief editor and licensee of the Kurdish daily newspaper was sentenced to 166 years and 6 months in prison.
Reasons for Kurşun's conviction were several items published in the issue of 11 August 2007. Those were the announcement of the death of Mazhar Ilbasan, Demirci Taştekin and Vural Soydemir, members of the People's Defence Forces (HPG), an armed wing of the PKK, as the result of clashes in Tunceli; a poem for PKK members written by Nesih Özcan and a notice saying "We are educated in front of fighters for freedom. The Patriotic 'Norşin' in Mersin".
We asked Eser Uyansiz to tell us about the pressure in recent years.
"As you know, Kurdish press is always under pressure and under threat. To take a decision to publish a Kurdish paper inevitably carries with that many problems, from shutdowns, to concessionaire to the editor and heavy fines. Not to mention prison sentences, as in the case of Vedat Kursun and Ozan Kilinc. They are in Diyarbakir D type jail. Newspaper distributors are constantly harassed and threatened by police.
Can you tell us about the last closure order
Lawsuits against us are generally brought referring to the TMK(Anti-Terrorism Law). Our newspaper was closed down 7 times. Almost everything published in the newspaper is considered a crime. If we want to give examples, it is a crime writing about the leader of Kurdish People, the leader of KCK, the leader of PKK, Mr.Abdullah Ocalan, HPG, PKK, KCK, PJAK, PAJK, Guerrilla, Martyr, Kurdistan, Amed, Photo of Ocalan, Guerrilla, articles and interviews.. virtually everything relating to the Kurds and the Kurdish issue could be considered a crime.
The last closure order against Azadiya Welat (21th August) was motivated with what appears to be the reason given for the most recent shutdown of all the newspapers: to make propaganda for PKK/Kongra-Gel
Being a Kurdish journalist is difficult, being a Kurdish journalist for a Kurdish paper even more difficult. How young journalists come to you? Which kind of training they have, what aspirations?
This newspaper has been published for 20 years, a lot of workers have been killed and kidnapped for examples the great journalist and intellectual Musa Anter. The last is Metin Alatas (he was killed on 4th April 2010 in Adana). Volunteers and employees are working in all areas of responsibility in the newspaper. Age is not important to the owner of the newspaper. All employees are experienced and have experience. Kurdish journalists always run workshops and a lot of work is being done in terms of training.
NUCAN CUDI - ANF / NEWS DESK
ANF NEWS AGENCY
