Turkey: Press Freedom
(asked on 9th March 2016) - View Source
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Turkey about human rights following the government takeover of a major Turkish newspaper.
This question was answered on 22nd March 2016
We continue to monitor specific human rights cases and regularly underline the importance of freedom of expression and all fundamental freedoms as part of our broader dialogue with the Turkish government. We welcomed the EU Commission’s Annual Progress Report on Turkey, released on 10 November 2015, which highlighted the need for further reforms from Turkey in those areas. As a friend and ally, we urge the Turkish government to uphold the right of media to operate without restriction. The Prime Minister, my Rt Hon Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), did so on 7 March when he met Turkey’s Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, and underlined the importance of protections for a free press and human rights in Turkey. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), and the Minister for Europe, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), reiterated these messages in their meetings on 12 March with the Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister respectively.
We continue to monitor specific human rights cases and regularly underline the importance of freedom of expression and all fundamental freedoms as part of our broader dialogue with the Turkish government. We welcomed the EU Commission’s Annual Progress Report on Turkey, released on 10 November 2015, which highlighted the need for further reforms from Turkey in those areas. As a friend and ally, we urge the Turkish government to uphold the right of media to operate without restriction. The Prime Minister, my Rt Hon Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), did so on 7 March when he met Turkey’s Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, and underlined the importance of protections for a free press and human rights in Turkey. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), and the Minister for Europe, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), reiterated these messages in their meetings on 12 March with the Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister respectively.