WAN - Reacting to the murder of their colleagues, “We have not backed down despite years of detentions, arrests and pressures. We will continue the struggles of our murdered colleagues,” says journalists in Wan. 

 

Journalists Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin, who were following the developments in North and East Syria, were killed by Turkey's Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) on December 19 on the road between Tishreen Dam and Sirîn town. Journalists working in different media organizations in Wan (Van) made evaluations on the murder of 2 journalists and the recent pressures. 

 

 

JINNEWS reporter Rabia Önver stated that there have been oppression and attacks against the Free Press for years and that they have responded to this by increasing their struggle and revealing the truth in the fields. Reacting to the targeted murder of journalists who publicized the attacks on North and East Syrian cities, Rabia Önver said: "Our journalist friends Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin were targeted and murdered for writing the truth. Killing, detention, torture or arrest cannot make us back down."

 

'TURKEY IS A HELL FOR JOURNALISTS'

 

 

Journalist Oktay Candemir stated that they will continue the struggle of all their murdered colleagues and said that the journalists murdered in Rojava and Başûr (South) were left in the scope of unsolved murders. Emphasizing that in the 90s journalists were killed within the borders of Turkey, Candemir said that today these deaths have crossed borders and that it is a contradiction for the government to talk about peace on the one hand and to kill civilians and journalists on the other. 

 

Stressed that they had witnessed the press activities of their murdered colleagues while they were working in Turkey Journalist Ruşen Takva said that there should be a reaction to the attacks.  “The attacks are against the people's right to information. The detention and arrest of journalists who react to the murder of their colleagues is a terrible situation. There is a great pressure on journalists in Wan and Turkey in particular. Turkey is a hell for a journalist because of the repression,” he said. 

 

'WE WILL NOT TAKE A STEP BACK'

 

 

Stating that they will not leave the pens of their murdered colleagues on the ground, Takva said, “We will continue to struggle and convey accurate information to the public despite the pressure and arrests. The government is taking advantage of the silence of international organizations against the crackdown on the Kurdish press. Despite years of detentions, arrests and pressures, none of us have backed down. We have clearly declared that we will not back down by killing, detaining and imprisoning, and that we will not give up writing the truth. I would like to underline that these policies are no longer working, that these pressures must come to an end, and that everyone must stand up for press workers.”

 

756 JOURNALISTS MURDERED IN SYRIA IN 13 YEARS

 

 

Journalist Arif Aslan said that the attacks against press workers around the world are not acceptable and that the duty of press workers is to reveal the truth by writing the facts with their cameras and pens. Stating that 756 journalists and activists have been killed in Syria since 2011, Aslan said: “The fact that so many journalists are killed in a place like Syria shows that there are no freedoms and how painful the war is. With the murder of Nazim and Cihan, they resorted to such a way to continue their dirty games, plans and perception policies easily. In Turkey, the attacks on journalists protesting these attacks show that there is no freedom of opinion and that this is not allowed. Despite the laws, journalists are prevented and obstructed.”   

 

Stating that the public and international press organizations do not show sufficient reflexes in all attacks against journalists and reacting to this attitude, Aslan said, “International press organizations remain silent especially when it comes to Kurdish press workers. As Kurdish journalists, we will continue our profession despite all the difficulties. We will continue to show the world the truth and write the truth in the face of all attacks.”