Press freedom concerns
September 11, 2009
In a statement issued in Brussels on Friday, the Association of Commercial Television said the fine imposed this week, allegedly for unpaid taxes, on the Dogan Media conglomerate appears to be "politically motivated."
The group also called on the European Commission to raise the issue during its EU membership negotiations with Turkey.
It's the second penalty slapped on Dogan Media this year. The media group, which owns two of Turkey's three top-selling newspapers and two of the four most-watched television stations, was fined $500 million in February for alleged late paid taxes.
At the time, the media group spoke of "intimidation" by the government.
Concerns about press freedom
The size of the penalties - the largest in Turkish corporate history - and the fact that the media group's owner, Aydin Dogan, is at odds with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan have sparked concerns about media freedom in Turkey.
Prime Minister Erdogan has accused the Dogan Media group of bias against his government. A year ago, Erdogan accused the conglomerate of slandering his AK party by linking it to a charity scandal in Germany.
On Friday, Turkey's leading business forum weighed into the debate saying the tax authority had caved in to political pressure by slapping Dogan with such a steep fine.
"This actual practice gives birth to suspicions that the tax administration is open to political influence and the public good is not observed in the exercise of executive power," TUSIAD said in a statement.
TUSIAD is headed by a daughter of Aydin Dogan, who controls the Dogan companies. The business forum has long been at loggerheads with the ruling AK party.
Erdogan denies political motivation
The latest fine of $2.5 billion exceeds the market value of the company and parent Dogan Holding. The company's shares slumped 20 percent at the close of trading in Istanbul.
But Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has denied there was any political motivation behind the fines, saying the tax authority is an independent body.
"This investigation was completely objective and fair," Nuerrtin Canikili, leader of the parliamentary group of Erdogan's AK party told Deutsche Welle. "There is no interference from the prime minister or the government. The tax office is completely free from any political interference."
But critics remain unconvinced. Haluk Sahin, a media expert at Bilgi University, said Prime Minister Erdogan had explicitly called for a boycott of newspapers published by the Dogan Media group.
"One would have to be extremely naive not to see a political motivation behind something like this," Sahin told Deutsche Welle.
EU worried about impact on Turkey's EU accession bid
The European Union has expressed concern at the latest fine on Dogan Yayin, saying it could affect the next progress report on Turkey's EU accession bid.
"I still really worry about freedom of expression and the rights of independent associations to form and say unpopular things," Richard Howitt, a European member of parliament told Deutsche Welle. "And, it is part of being a modern democratic and pluralistic country and I still think that is a lesson we have a long way to go in Turkey."
Turkey's EU accession talks opened in October 2005, but progress has been slow. The EU has urged Turkey to implement a package of reforms as conditions for joining the 27-nation bloc.
sp/Reuters/AP/DPA
Editor: Nancy Isenson