 |
| AHaber TV and Takvim daily headlines about German President Gauck |
“Gauck claims that Germany is supporting Turkey's European Union membership bid, but his comments are far from being true,” the aHaber Tv said.
The German president said during his visit to Turkey that he was "horrified" with the negative developments in the country; he criticized the government for restricting access to the Internet, controlling the judiciary and granting wide powers to its spy agency.
Gauck's remarks came at a time when the government has put the judiciary under its control with a recent bill on the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK). The German president said the removal of a number of police and prosecutors from their posts by the government will keep any shady developments in the dark. "I'm asking: If the government tries to manipulate court decisions in its favor or escape from decisions against itself, can we talk about independence of the judiciary?"
He criticized granting wide powers to the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and slammed authorities for using excessive force to disperse protesters from the streets.
The president also said he is concerned about the freedom of the press, pointing out that Internet sites are being censored while journalists are jailed or intimidated. He said that informing people and being informed about developments are two fundamental conditions of a healthy democracy.
Published on Cihan, 29 April 2014, Tuesday
Related Articles
