Turkey blocks access to all Deutsche Welle websites, citing “lack of relevant permission”. DW will go to court.
The Turkish media regulator (RTUK) has decided to block access to Deutsche Welle’s websites because, it claims, the German public broadcaster does not have a license to do so. As of Thursday evening, DW’s websites are no longer available in Turkey. The same ban applies to “Voice of America”. It is recalled that today DW broadcasts in 32 languages, including Turkish.
Already last February, RTUK had asked DW and other international media to submit an application for a broadcasting license, as stipulated in a relevant law in Turkey, which dates back to 2019. Otherwise, RTUK warned, DW is threatened with a “ban program broadcasting” and access to its websites will be blocked by the authorities.
“No to Censorship”
Deutsche Welle said in a statement that it would not comply with the directives, as “granting permission would allow the Turkish government to censor journalistic content”. Deutsche Welle’s director general Peter Liburg says: “In an extensive correspondence, and even in a personal discussion with the president of the Turkish regulatory authority, we detailed the reasons why DW cannot submit an application for such license. For example, those media outlets that hold a Turkish license are obliged to delete from their websites content that RTUK deems inappropriate. This would simply be unacceptable for an independent broadcaster.”
The station’s general manager added that “DW will take legal action against the ban”. DW is currently one of the few sources of independent information for citizens in Turkey. The same is the case with other international media. In addition to DW, “Voice of America” and Euronews are also asked to request a corresponding “permission”. It is noted that DW has opened a “liaison office” in Turkey, as provided for by the said 2019 legislation, while it has also been “registered” with the relevant ministry since February 2020.
The 10-member RTUK is dominated by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s conservative AKP party, as well as the co-ruling far-right MHP party. In recent years, and especially after the failed coup attempt against Erdogan in 2016, Turkey has taken a series of actions to suppress independent and critical voices in the media, but also in academia.
Giannis Papadimitriou (DW)
Source: Deutsche Welle
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