Gökçe Gökçen calls on NATO: 'Ensure journalists can freely cover the summit'

CHP İzmir Deputy Gökçe Gökçen has called on NATO to ensure that journalists from various political backgrounds can freely cover the upcoming NATO Summit in Ankara. Gökçen highlighted the rejection of accreditation requests from numerous journalists wishing to cover the event, stating that only those working for government-aligned media were granted access.

“

I regret to inform you that your media accreditation request has not been approved this time. I cannot state the reasons for this decision. The decision is final.

"I regret to inform you that your media accreditation request has not been approved this time. I cannot state the reasons for this decision. The decision is final," was the message received by many journalists whose applications were denied. Gökçen noted that many of those rejected have previously covered international events, including NATO summits. A NATO spokesperson indicated that the alliance bases its media access decisions on the host country's assessments.

“

NATO's spokesperson said that NATO decides on media access based on the host country's assessments.

Gökçen criticized the situation, contrasting it with authoritarian regimes that often accuse critics of complaining about their own country to international bodies. In this case, she argued, the ruling party has complained about its own citizens, journalists, to NATO, which has accepted the exclusion of independent media. "This is not a national problem. This is a test of NATO's commitment to the values it claims to defend," she stated. She also pointed to broader restrictions, citing the recent detention of 225 people and the arrest of 103 individuals, including lawyers, environmentalists, and academics, with charges based on potential future actions rather than concrete evidence.

“

Authoritarian governments generally accuse those who tell the truth in international institutions of complaining about their own country. But here, the opposite has happened. Here, the ruling party has complained about its own citizens, journalists, to NATO, and NATO has accepted the exclusion of independent media.

"Security cannot be a pretext for destroying democracy. International organizations should not be tools for restricting fundamental freedoms," Gökçen asserted. She concluded by appealing directly to NATO: "Defend the values you claim to uphold, respect press freedom, respect criticism. Ensure that independent journalists can freely cover the summit and do not become accomplices in the violation of the rights and freedoms of innocent people."

“

This is not a national problem. This is a test of NATO's commitment to the values it claims to defend.