JINHA

ŞIRNEX - Women journalists who came to Cizre to do journalism called attention to “peace journalism” and called on mainstream media journalists to practice this form of journalism.

“We create our ideas related to what is real and how it happens, so all journalists should support and strengthen peace journalism,” women journalists said.

Since the very beginning of Turkish security forces’ nine-day blockade of the Kurdish town of Cizre earlier this month, journalists have been trying to broadcast people’s experiences and to share what happens in the town. Evrensel News and Hayat TV reporter Cansu Pişkin arrived in Cizre after the end of martial law.

“It is quite different when you look Cizre from far away and from here. When I went to neighborhoods in Cizre, I went through the pain. 21 citizens lost their lives. The state destroyed all the houses there,” Cansu said. “Local people tried to recover from the damage. They tried to support each other. They invited us for dinner or tea, despite all these material and moral losses. They were kind to us.”

Cansu said that when she went to hospital, she saw policemen with their hands on the triggers of their guns.

“Policemen were pacing the floors in the hospital. People had trouble getting in,” she said.

Cansu complained about the media’s language. “The president of the republic said that ‘from a 75-year-old man to a 35-day baby, they are terrorists’, and the media used this sentence in the headlines. They should use peaceful language; their language should bring society together,” Cansu said.

Canan Yıldız, journalist and member of the group Women’s Initiative for Peace, noted that peace is an important issue for journalists.

“Periods of despotism always damage journalism. The press in Turkey has been a vehicle to reflect the government’s statements,” Canan said.

She said that all journalists should be the voice of truth against untruth.

(ekip/gc/fk/ea/cm)