VOA慢速英语2015 土耳其国家限制媒体引起外界关注

AS IT IS 2015-05-30 State Limits on Media Raise Concern in Turkey 土耳其国家限制媒体引起外界关注

Turkey will hold elections in June. Before then, a Turkish government lawyer wants to close several TV stations linked to Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen and critical of the ruling AK Party.

Government officials claim Mr. Gulen is working against the government.

But critics are speaking against the government’s move to close the stations. They say the state controls the media in order to report in favor of the government.

Cengiz Aktar is a political scientist at Istanbul’s Suleyman Sah University. He says closing the TV stations would add to growing concerns over the fairness of the June 7 general election.

"It will lessen¹ the media outlets² capable of reporting properly what is really happening during the campaign. Already it is extremely difficult to talk about a free election because the majority of the media outlets are openly working for the ruling party and press freedom is under very serious threat as pointed³ [out] by European Union ... by [the] Council of Europe and by America."

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE, is observing the election. OSCE is concerned about the fairness of the media.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu is the leader of the main opposition⁴ Republican People’s Party. He has strongly condemned⁵ any threat to close TV stations.

And some pro-government newspaper writers are also worried about the threat.

The ruling AK Party has not commented on the reports.

At the same time, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused a leading newspaper of plotting against him and the government. The owners of the newspaper are critical of the government.

President Erdogan is a founding member of the ruling party. He is required by the Turkish Constitution to be neutral.

But since the start of the general election, President Erdogan has spoken around the country. In his speeches he often attacks all the opposition parties.

State media and many private TV channels carry the speeches live. Observers say that, in contrast, the opposition has few chances to speak on television.

Government minister Nesrin Ulema denies any wrongdoing. She says the country’s Supreme⁶ Election Council and election laws secure equal broadcast rights for all parties after the campaign period starts.

"There might be such a perception or a feeling that AK Party has more weight since our president is also out in the field. But he is the first ever president who was elected by the nation's votes."

Kadri Gursel works as a political reporter at Turkey’s Milliyet newspaper. He warns the country is moving into a “crisis of justice."

"There is no legal body to stop and punish violation⁷ of the constitution, violation of electoral law and limited access of opposition parties to mainstream⁸ media. And then it’s enough to create an authoritarian⁹ system, which makes it almost impossible for an opposition parity¹⁰ to make gains in elections."

Related reports say the government is giving tax benefits to large businesses. The reports say the companies, which own large media operations, received the tax credits in the period before the election.

The ruling AK Party has strongly denied claims that they acted illegally. But national and international concerns are increasing over the health of democracy and the June election.

Words in This Story

found - v. to begin or create (something that is meant to last for a long time)

neutral - adj. not supporting one political view over another

perception - n. the way you think about or understand someone or something

1 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

2 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

6 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

7 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

8 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

9 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

10 parity   

n.平价，等价，比价，对等

参考例句：

• The two currencies have now reached parity.这两种货币现已达到同等价值。
• Women have yet to achieve wage or occupational parity in many fields.女性在很多领域还没能争取到薪金、职位方面的平等。