JINHA

AMED – Journalist associations have held a meeting with their colleagues in Kurdistan today in Diyarbakır. The journalists protested the Turkish state’s violence against their colleagues in the region.

As Turkish state forces continue arresting and shooting on journalists reporting in the Kurdistan region, a number of professional bodies of journalists have arrived in Diyarbakır today to call for safety for their colleagues. The journalists are calling for an end to the state attacks on journalists in the region.

The Turkish Journalists' Association (TGC), Free Journalists Association (ÖGC), Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS), and journalist locals of the unions DİSK and KESK are participating in the gathering at Diyarbakır’s Sümerpark Reception Hall.

Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS) president Uğur Güç said that the ongoing situation of war in the Kurdistan region has enabled aggressive attacks against journalists from news agencies JINHA and DİHA, who have been arrested, jailed, threatened, harassed and shot while performing their duties over the last six months. Most recently, Turkish state forces shot and seriously wounded cameraman Refik Tekin from news channel İMC TV as he was covering events in the besieged town of Cizre.

“As journalists, our goal is to reflect reality, but those inflicting violence here do not want us to do this,” said Faruk Eren from the DİSK journalists’ union. “Getting in an armored vehicle and writing news is not journalism. You can only tell the truth from among the people. Our colleagues like Refik are getting shot and wounded, but we will struggle for the truth.”

(be/gc/cm)