Ankara Calls EU Parliament Resolution on Turkey’s Freedom of Press ‘Unfair’

Turkish Foreign Minister said that the recent European Parliament's resolution on the freedom of press in the country is 'unfair' noting that there are 7,500 media outlets operating in Turkey.

ANKARA, January 18 (Sputnik) — A recently adopted European Parliament’s resolution that criticizes Turkey’s freedom of press is “unfair”, Turkish Minister for EU Affairs Volkan Bozkir said.

“There are 7,500 media outlets operating in our country, including 280 TV channels, newspapers’ circulation reaches 5 million. Saying that there is no freedom of press in Turkey is unfair. We will do everything possible to overcome such stereotypes,” Bozkir said as quoted by Anadolu news agency.

The European Parliament’s resolution adopted on Thursday criticized Turkish government for arresting journalists and called on Ankara to make sure freedom of press is respected in the country.

In December, Turkish police conducted nationwide raids, detaining 27 people. The raids followed the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s accusations that an influential Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen had been attempting to overthrow his government.

Among those arrested were the chief editor of the Zaman newspaper Ekrem Dumanli, the chief executive of the Samanyolu television channel Hidayer Raraca, as well as two producers and a scriptwriter. Several policemen thought to be involved in Gulen’s organization were also detained.

Following the detention, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn in a joint statement condemned the arrests, saying they were incompatible with the freedom of media.