Freedom of Speech in Turkey

Floor Speech

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Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my concerns about the
current efforts to punish and stifle freedom of expression in Turkey
and to share my worry that Turkey is drifting away from the tolerant
secular nation founded by Kemal Ataturk almost 100 years ago and
towards religious extremism and authoritarianism.

The current Government in Turkey has arrested members of Turkish
media deemed non-supportive of the government. For decades, Turkey has
had a free press and the freedom to disagree and vigorous political
debate. It is a disturbing negative trend for the current government to
reverse decades of transparency and to seek to impose authoritarianism.

I am informed that Mr. Ekrem Dumanli, editor-in-chief of Zaman, a
daily newspaper in Turkey, and Hidayet Karaca, General Manager of
Samanyolu Media Group, were arrested on December 14, 2014. To the shame of the current leadership, Hidayet Karaca is still in detention
awaiting trial. They were not arrested for actual crimes, but on
transparently political charges, thus bringing the total number of
detained press and media personalities to 29. These members of the
media have ties to the Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen, a scholar who
preaches tolerance and peace and who is a known critic of the Erdogan
Administration.

In December 2013, allegations of corruption were levied against the
Erdogan Administration based on legal investigations. Afterwards, about
some 400 people (including 150 stated Gulen supporters) were monitored
on Twitter and ultimately the Turkish people's access to Twitter was
blocked. These arrests, and the effort to stifle opposition, have a
chilling effect on freedom, democracy, and economic prosperity for all
of Turkey. Turkey's bid for accession to the European Union continues
to languish under these policies--before negotiations on the matter
develop, Turkey must recognize basic press freedoms and the right to
political dissent.

Turkey plays a critical role as an ally to the United States in the
Middle East. To allow it to go down the road of sectarian extremism and
authoritarianism without meaningful discussion and diplomacy is
disconcerting. Turkey is a key leader in the region and a cultural,
historic, and political bulwark between the Middle East, Europe, and
Asia. Turkey is an important member of NATO, and I believe all rational
people want to see the Turkish Government abandon intimidation and
embrace a free press and tolerance of dissenting voices. The Turkey
founded by Ataturk deserves our support. International remonstration is
needed to bring it back to the ranks of nations that do not fear its
own people, do not fear opposition, and do not fear universal freedoms.

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