Erdogan: EU report on Turkey biased

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rebuked the European Parliament’s report on issue of detention of journalists in Turkey, Press TV reported.

He said that whoever has readied this biased report, which is far from objective, does not know Turkey. "The wordings of this report do not reflect the press freedom in Turkey," Reuters quoted him as telling a news conference on Thursday.

For the time being, he said, there are 27 journalists behind bars "because of their relations with terrorist organizations, and because of their attempts to topple the government."

Erdogan, lashing out at the parliament’s Turkey rapporteur, Ria Oomen-Ruijten, said that the arrests have nothing to do with their journalism field.

The European Parliament had voiced serious concerns about press freedom in Turkey in a criticism-laden report that was published Wednesday, March 9.

The EU report was published a week after a Turkish court charged six journalists and a writer with involvement in an alleged plot to overthrow the government.

The European Union, which Turkey aims to join, as well as the United States and human rights groups have voiced concerns about the implications of the detentions for Ankara’s commitment to media freedom and democratic principles.

Erdogan also rejected the allegations that his government seeks to silence opponents.


/APA/