Let's Pin Down the Headline at the Neighbour's! November 2015 - Turkey

A group of 10 journalists, 8 from Armenia, 1 from France and 1 from the US, visited Turkey from November 15th to November 22nd, 2015 as part of the Turkey-Armenia Journalists’ Dialogue Programme, organised by the Hrant Dink Foundation with the support of the MyMedia Programme of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. In the seventh year of the programme, which aims at strengthening ties between journalists from Turkey and Armenia and helping to establish direct means of exchanging news sources, 10 participants were selected out of 70 applicants and were invited to take part in a one-week programme in Istanbul and Ankara to gain a better understanding of Turkey and the Armenian community in the country.

Journalists and reporters from Georgia Today, H3 TV, Ianyan Magazine, Panorama.am, Public Radio of Armenia, Radio France Internationale, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Armenia Service, Shant TV, Sputnik News Agency and Yerkir Media TV visited Turkey and found out about the current media and journalism landscape in the country.

The group of journalists started their programme with a visit to Hrant Dink’s office, which has been one of the venues of the 14th Istanbul Biennial. They continued their day at the Anarad Hığutyun Building, the new home of Agos Newspaper and the Hrant Dink Foundation. During the week, the journalists entered the newsrooms of different media outlets such as CNN Türk TV, Cumhuriyet Newspaper, Kanal D, Kanal 24, Star Newspaper; had the chance to meet their colleagues; and discuss their news making policies, the state of media, how they cover news about Armenia and bilateral relations, as well as the coverage of the term Genocide. During their visit to the Parliament in Ankara, the journalists had the chance to see the Plenary Hall and meet with the Parliamentary Reporters’ Association where they learned more about the press freedom in Turkey and practices for parliamentary reporters.

As part of the one-week programme, the group also visited Aras Publishing, Getronagan High School, Surp Pırgiç Armenian Hospital, Kocamustafapaşa (Samatya) Surp Kevork Armenian Church School and Cemetery Foundation. These visits helped the journalists to meet the Armenian citizens of Turkey and learn about their activities and issues. In their meetings with Arsen Avagyan, the Permanent Representative of Armenia to Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), the group was briefed about the mandate and activities of the mission in Istanbul.

Since the recent subsequent parliamentary elections in Turkey brought along new dynamics and debate at political and social level, it was important for the journalists from Armenia and the Diaspora to witness these developments in the neighbouring Turkey and have face-to-face meetings with different political parties. In this context, the group was hosted by MPs Sezgin Tanrıkulu and Selina Doğan at the headquarters of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) in Ankara, where they learned about the policies of the main opposition party concerning the new constitution, Turkey-Armenia relations and relations with the Armenian Diaspora. The journalists also had a meeting with Garo Paylan, the elected Istanbul MP of the People’s Democratic Party (HDP), and Ayşe Erdem, Co-Chair of HDP Istanbul branch, where they discussed the parliamentary elections, the policies of the party, the state of the minority groups in Turkey, as well as the centenary of the Armenian Genocide.

The group also visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and received by key diplomats working on Turkey-Armenia relations. The meeting with the MFA allowed the journalists to exchange views on 1915, the sealed Turkey-Armenia border, and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Ankara visit also included a meeting with the EU Delegation to Turkey, which touched upon the issues of Turkey’s EU accession, EU-Russia relations, Syria crises as well as the EU policies and programmes on Armenia-Turkey normalisation process.

The participants also had meetings with civic initiatives including the election observation association Oy ve Ötesi Derneği/ Vote and Beyond Association, where they learned about the conduct of the recent elections and the experiences of citizen participation. Another important meeting was held with the organizers of the Ankara Labour, Peace and Democracy Rally, who shared their ideals and struggle for peace as well as their thoughts on the bombing attack, the deadliest in Turkey’s modern history. Some of the programme participants had a brief meeting with KAOS-GL Association, 2015 International Hrant Dink Award Laureate, and were introduced to the state of LGBT movement in Turkey as well as KAOS-GL’s appeal and efforts for open borders.

The group also attended the international conference "A Civilization Destroyed: The Wealth of Non-Muslims in the Late Ottoman Period and the Early Republican Era” in Istanbul on November 20th, 2015 organised by the Hrant Dink Foundation in cooperation with Boğaziçi University, Istanbul Bilgi University and Sabanci University. On their last day, the group visited the exhibition hall, DEPO Istanbul and received detailed information about the center’s activities, previous, current and up-coming exhibitions by the Programme Coordinator Asena Günal. Afterwards a round table discussion was held at DEPO with the representatives of History Foundation, Truth Memory Justice Center and Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly on the experiences of civil society in Turkey’s coming to terms with the past in 2015 and beyond.

Photos: Nar Photos

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