In protest of the killing of two Kurdish journalists, Cîhan Bilgin and Nazim Daştan, near the Tishreen Dam in northeast Syria on 19 December, a wave of protests spread from Kurdistan to Europe, demanding condemnation of the Turkish government’s actions in killing both civilians and journalists.
Erdogan also ordered a cracdown on Turkish journalists covering the Syrian regiem change and the ensuing attacks on Syrian Kurdish entity PYD-YPG.
Following the drone strike by Turkey on 19 December near the Tishreen Dam in northeast Syria (Rojava) which claimed the lives of two Kurdish journalists, Cîhan Bilgin and Nazim Daştan, a wave of protests has erupted, spanning from Kurdistan to Europe, denouncing Turkey’s actions.
In this regard, Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmad, a member of the political office of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the first lady of Iraq, issued a statement expressing her profound regret over the murder of Bilgin and Daştan.
“Unfortunately, the Turkish state’s efforts to occupy Rojava extend beyond the assassination of civilians; through its mercenaries, it seeks to silence journalists.”
In another part of her message, Ahmad emphasised that the killing of journalists by Turkey is not a new phenomenon, highlighting Turkey’s long-standing and dark history of journalist killings.
While offering her condolences to the families of the victims, she urged the international community to not remain passive in the face of Turkey’s actions, calling for a halt to the brutalities and fascist mentality of the Turkish state. She further called for the establishment of a committee to investigate these murders.
In a separate response to the murder of these two Kurdish journalists, members of “The Democratic Media Union of Kurdistan (YRD)” issued a statement from the Makhmur refugee camp, Rostam Jodi. The statement, delivered by Brivan Tunj, extended condolences to the families of the victims and asserted:
“At a time when Rojava is under attack by the Turkish government and its mercenary allies, our journalist colleagues, simply for documenting the truth, are under siege. Yet, as members of ‘YRD’, we will not abandon our ‘pens and cameras’ in our mission to report the facts.”
On 20 December, protest rallies were organised in several European cities to condemn the killing of journalists in northeast Syria. Kurds and their supporters in Paris, Cologne, Winterthur, Lausanne, and Nicosia gathered to denounce the Turkish army’s assault on journalists, demanding an international investigation into the killings.
Protests to spread to Turkey, too, wtih the police arresting 10participants.
Over the past four months, four Kurdish journalists have been killed by Turkish state drones in Iraqi Kurdistan and northeast Syria. Gülistan Tara and Hêro Bahadîn were killed in September 2024, alongside Bilgin and Daştan this week.
Turkey cracks down on Turkish, journalists, too
It appears the adminstration wants to tightly control the news flow about Syria. In specific, it want to quash any conversation about the Syrian Kurds in a manner not suiting the official view that it is a terror organization.
A Turkish court has put renowned journalist Özlem Gürses under house arrest following her alleged criticism of Turkish military actions in Syria during her YouTube program, which she deemed a “slip of the tongue.”
Turkish authorities temporarily detained renowned journalist Nevşin Mengü for interviewing former PYD co-chair Salih Muslim. Mengü was released under judicial control measures and with an international travel ban.
A Turkish court has sentenced journalist Barış Terkoğlu to a two-year prison sentence for “targeting individuals involved in counterterrorism efforts.” The charge concerned two news articles detailing the court rulings from then-judge and current deputy Justice Minister Akın Gürlek.
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