Erdogan to stifle dissent over 'harmful content'
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Turkey’s President assures that measures are to be taken against any content "incompatible with national and moral values."
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intimidated Turkish media with legal action for content "incompatible with national and moral values." Erdogan's move comes as an attempt to stifle dissent, critics say.
In the process, he fired his justice minister and the head of the state statistics agency after publishing official data that reveal the inflation rate hit a 19-year high last year.
In a decree, Turkey's President claimed that "it has become necessary to take necessary measures to protect (families, children, and youth) against harmful media content."
He urged authorities to take "legal action" against the "destructive effects" of some media content, without elaborating.
Critics said it was yet another attempt to restrict free speech in his run-up to next year's elections.
In a post on Twitter, a veteran journalist and media ombudsman accused Erdogan of declaring a "state of emergency against the media."
It is worth noting that on December 4, the Turkish president survived an assassination attempt in the Turkish state of Siirt.
The Turkish media quoted Turkish intelligence as saying that a bomb was placed in the President guard's car and that the attempt was thwarted at the last minute.
It is worth mentioning that human rights organizations routinely accuse Turkey of undermining media freedom by arresting journalists and shutting down critical media outlets.
