Turkey regresses in RSF's latest press freedom index
Date
4/20/2016 12:21:57 PM
(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) >The 2016 World Press Freedom Index prepared by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) saw Turkey decline by over six points compared to last year due to “systematic censoring” of the media in addition to a sharp rise in charges of “insulting the president” and loosely defined “terrorism.”
This year Turkey lagged behind Russia Cambodia and Qatar in the index’s “bad” section while performing slightly better than Iraq and Egypt.
In its benchmark index that measures the attacks on journalistic freedom and independence by respective governments Reporters Without Borders presented the struggle in Turkey as “Erdoan against the media.”
“PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoanhas embarked on an offensive against Turkey’s media. Journalists are harassed many have been accused of ‘insulting the president’ and the Internet is systematically censored” it said adding that regional geopolitics including the war in Syria and the fight against the outlawedKurdistan Workers’ Party(PKK) has also had a negative impact on freedoms.
Turkey was cited alongside Egypt as one of the countries where the “authoritarian tendencies of governments” were on the rise.
The decline in respect for media freedom was nonetheless portrayed as a global phenomenon rather than a regional one as the indicator deteriorated some 3.7 percent worldwide compared to last year. Increasingly authoritarian governments tight government control over state-owned media outlets and security crises across the world are cited as leading causes of this decline.
The results show thatEuropestill has the world’s freest media followed - albeit distantly – by Africa which slightly outperformed the Americas for the first time. The Middle East and North Africa was once again the least free continent following Eastern Europe Central Asia and Asia.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.