Press Council: January 10 Day of 'Journalists Unable to Work’

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The Press Council of Turkey has released a statement on the occasion of January 10 Working Journalists' Day and raised concerns about the dismissal and unemployment of journalists:

"We cannot, unfortunately, celebrate January 10, which marks the day when the Law no. 212 entered into force, granting journalists job security, freedom of labor and right to unionize, as the Working Journalists' Day anymore.

"More than 13 thousand journalists in Turkey, whose newspapers and television channels were closed and who were dismissed from their jobs for economic reasons or as a result of political pressure, have been driven apart from their professions today. The studies have shown that only 1 out of every 3 journalist can find the opportunity to work."

Why is January 10 celebrated?

The Press Law no. 212 was enacted by the Coup Administration on January 4, 1961 in the period following the military coup on May 27, 1960.

Granting journalists a series of freedoms and rights including job security and improvement of their working conditions, the law was protested by newspaper owners, who decided not to publish newspapers for three days.

In response, on January 10, journalists organized a march to lay claim to their rights and freedom of press and published the newspaper "BASIN" (Press) on January 11-12-13, 1961.

Until the coup on March 12, 1971, January 10 had been celebrated as "the Working Journalists' Festival." After the coup, the day was stripped off its "festival" quality and started to be called "Working Journalists' Day." (HK/SD)