Turkish ambassador to SA responds
FOR some days, outlets belonging to Independent Media have provided a platform for the spokespeople of an entity known to be the architect of the failed coup attempt in Turkey back in July 2016.
Media freedom is a core value of all democratic societies. That is certainly the case for South Africa. But as with all freedoms, media freedoms don’t exist in a vacuum and are subject to a set of responsibilities.
These responsibilities, which essentially relate to moral and ethical values, should guide media outlets in their editorial decisions.
But in this particular case, I strongly believe that the balancing of moral and ethical concerns with the requirement of protecting the editorial independence and pluralism of opinion has been greatly undermined by the granting of valuable opinion space to this specific cast of writers belonging to the “Gulen network”, which is recognised in my country as a terrorist entity (Feto) in the wake of their botched coup attempt.
Not only is there an ongoing legal process in Turkey in relation to many members of this organisation involved in the coup attempt combined, but also a very strong bipartisan consensus shared by all actors across the political spectrum about the true nature of the threat posed by the “Gulenists” for the integrity of the Turkish state.
Against this backdrop, it also seems to me that taking as a journalistic reference the online articles published by the leaders of this organisation who have had to flee their country of origin, is grossly incongruous with basic standards of reporting.
The “Gulen movement” (Feto) has arguably a strong presence in SA, backed by a network of schools they continue to operate. But the Turkish government is now co-operating closely with South African authorities to shed light on the true nature of this entity.
This co-operative framework has further assisted our mutual efforts to advance bilateral ties.
Lastly, the South African Minister of Basic Education, the honourable Angie Motshekga, is visiting Turkey to meet her counterpart.
The closeness of bilateral ties is also illustrated by the invitation extended by South African authorities for Turkey to participate in the Brics Summit to be held in July in South Africa.