EFJ AGM 2000: 10. Support to Turkish Cypriot Newspaper "AVRUPA"

European Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
Resolutions
Adopted by the EFJ AGM held in Nuremberg, Germany, May 26-28, 2000

10. Support to Turkish Cypriot Newspaper "AVRUPA" From the Union of Cyprus Journalists The EFJ-AGM instructs the Steering Committee and Secretariat to support and continue the immediate action taken by addressing the authorities in the north part of Cyprus and the Government of Turkey, to save the Turkish Cypriot newspaper "AVRUPA" which came under a new strangulating attack, and to protect the life of its journalists who face the threat of imprisonment. The EFJ-AGM denounces the action of the authorities in the north part of Cyprus not to allow the President of the Union of Cyprus Journalists to meet with the Editor-in-Chief of "AVRUPA" and other journalists of the persecuted newspaper at the checkpoint of the dividing line of Nicosia. The authorities in the North part of Cyprus, where the daily Turkish Cypriot newspaper "AVRUPA" is published and circulates, seized on May 16th all its equipment and furniture, following the newspapers refusal to pay a fine of 290,000 USD imposed for the alleged defamation of Rauf Denktash, the Turkish Cypriot leader. The newspaper, which is in opposition of Rauf Denktash, has been under constant harassment from the first day of its publication, and it is believed that the authorities in the north part of Cyprus are trying to silence a vocal critic.