LONDON, — Jean Lambert, London’s Green MEP, has demanded that Europe takes a tougher stance in securing greater media freedom for the Kurdish regions following a special seminar organised by the Kurdish Human Rights Project.
The event, which focused on freedom of expression, forms part of a programme of talks which aim to promote awareness and discussion of human rights in the Kurdish regions of Turkey, Iran, Syria and Iraq.
Speaking after the seminar, Jean, KHRP’s Advisor on Environmental Rights, said: “Countries controlling these regions have some of the worst freedom of expression abuses in the world, with Turkey, an EU-accession country, ranking 138th out of 178 countries in the World Press Freedom Index and Syria 173rd. [1]
“Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right. Attempts by ruling governments to suppress the media are clearly designed to silence independent voices and stamp out political opposition. This is absolutely unacceptable and the EU must go further to ensure that Kurds have the same freedom of expression that we expect in our own countries within the European Union.”