VIENNA
Saying there is no freedom of press in Turkey is injustice, Turkish EU Minister Volkan Bozkir said on Saturday.
"There are 7.500 media outlets 280 television channels and newspaper circulations of five million copies in Turkey. It is injustice to say there is no freedom of press in such a country. We will make our best efforts to overcome this," Bozkir said in Vienna referring to the European Parliament's resolution on freedom of expression in Turkey, which the parliament approved on Jan. 15.
Pointing out that in Europe some radical right-wing groups gain prominence due to unemployment and economic woes, Bozkir said Muslims need to be given assurances and protection from racism and terror threats in Europe.
"Muslims are part of Europe. They are living here; they need to be given all kinds of assurances. To prevent racist views from causing harm is the responsibility of these countries.”
Twelve people, including prominent journalists and cartoonists, were killed on Jan. 7 in French capital Paris when two masked gunmen attacked the headquarters of the Charlie Hebdo magazine, known for publishing provocative material, including cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
Five other people, including a policewoman and four hostages in a kosher supermarket in Paris, were killed by Amedy Coulibaly, who had links with the two suspected gunmen for the magazine attack, brothers Cherif and Said Kaouchi.
The attacks caused uproar around the world, and led to attacks against mosques and Muslims in Europe.
