Journalist Bram Vermeulen, a correspondent for the Dutch liberal newspaper NRC Handelsblad, has recently claimed that the Turkish government placed his name on the blacklist of unwelcomed people in Turkey. He was informed by the decision upon his arrival into Turkey through Ataturk international airport back in February of this year. Vermeulen, known for his previous work in Africa, moved to Turkey in 2009 and won a prestigious award for two television series he made about the country. "They took me to an office [at the airport] and said there was a security problem. Vermeulen told Hurriyet Daily News on October 23. "An official told me that Turkey was forbidden to me. Then I said I had a residence permit and I have a press card and then they allowed me to enter Turkey" However, the dutch journalist seems to maintain a positive outlook stating that he did not want to go public with his story before now because he wanted to avoid a Turkey-bashing campaign in the Netherlands. He also told the Hurriyet Daliy news that he still had hope that the issue will be resolved. "I think this is a bureaucratic mistake and I am just hoping that it can be solved by Turkey's Interior Ministry," "I am a very active journalist. I travel a lot around the country. I am not accused of any crime. I interviewed the president and the prime minister and I have made a documentary about Turkey, showing the beautiful sides of the country. I know that I am not an anti-Turkey journalist, but I am a critical journalist," he added. Speaking to Today's Zaman, Vermeulen said that his press card was supposed to be automatically renewed last April yet was not. He added that his attempts to contact the authorities regarding the press card were fruitless. Denying claims that his current residence permit has been cancelled, Vermeulen tweeted on October 22 "My permit wasn't cancelled. I'm blacklisted which prevented me from getting new press card, which can block my permit" On the other hand, government security officials told various media outlets in the country that had Vermeulen been blacklisted, he would not been allowed into Turkey at all. Bram's case highlights a growing negative sentiment in Turkey towards journalists who cover issues and events that are critical of the Turkish government. Several journalists, locals and foreign, came under fire following the June-Gezi protests which was covered widely by international media, with some arguing that local media was absent in comparison to the international coverage. One of the notable cases of attacks on journalists was the case of the targeting of a BBC reporter by a government official. During the June protests and due to her coverage of the unrest, BBC Turkish Service reporter Selin Girit was referred to as a spy or "agent" by Ankara's mayor, Melih Gokcek, launching a campaign against her on twitter. The mayor created a hashtag on twitter that read: "Don't be an agent on behalf of England Selin Girit". He also urged his followers to write tweets along with this hashtag. This initiated a smear campaign by pro government "tweeps" against the BBC reporter that eventually prompted the BBC network to issue a statement denouncing the Ankara mayor defamation campaign. The statement called the Mayor's action "unacceptable". Turkish Prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as several other government officials, went as far as claiming that the protests were exaggerated by the international media and foreign correspondents in an attempt to destroy Turkey and its reputation. "From the start, some people, internally and externally, have tried to portray the protests as totally innocent and just, and the police of having systematically used force," Erdogan said. "Certain media in Turkey were lead provocateurs. The foreign media took part in these operations." Turkey's record of press freedom is one of the lowest in the world ahead of Iran and china, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) stated in its October 2012 report on Turkey titled "Turkey's Press Freedom Crisis". The report also stated that as of August 2012, 76 journalists were jailed as a direct result of their work mostly Kurdish or who work for Kurdish outlets. The Turkish government, however, argues that those journalists are in prison for serious crimes related to terrorism and/or affiliations with terror organizations. "Anti-terror" law seems to be the reason behind this increased hostility toward journalists in Turkey. The law in question was introduced in 1991 at a time when the conflict between the Turkish state and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was at its fiercest. Under the law, any person or journalist that writes about the PKK or the Kurdish rights in general would be charged with making "terror propaganda". Critics argue that the law has been used to target anyone critical of the government. "According to official figures of the Justice Ministry, in the last four years an enormous number of people - somewhere around 40,000 - have been prosecuted for membership of armed organizations, and half of them have received convictions under that law." Voice of America quoted Emma Sinclair Webb, senior researcher for Human rights Watch, saying on October 18. "Now it applies disproportionately to Kurds in Turkey, but it also applies to other groups: it has been used against leftists, it has been used against journalists, students, for activities which could not in any way be counted as terrorism," Following the Gezi protests, local media organizations were accused of under covering the protests because of the fear of the government's wrath. The local media failed to cover the early days of the protests where international media and twitter seemed to be the only sources to turn to in order to keep up with updates on the ground. However this emerging news of the blacklisting of the Dutch journalist is seen as an unprecedented move by the current government against foreign journalists. The last time a journalist was deported from Turkey was back in 1995. Observers argue that such move is already damaging the shaky opinion of several European countries regarding Turkey joining their union. The news has spread across Netherlands and came as a shock to the people who follow the famous and well-established journalist. In his opinion piece for Today's zaman, Joost Lagendijk argued that such move by the government will further distance Turkey from the achieving the EU membership since tension is already in place regarding an almost all Muslim country joining the EU. "It [Vermeulen story] plays into the hands of the opponents of Turkey's EU accession who are always looking for bad news to underpin their ideologically motivated antipathy," wrote Lagendijk. "Moreover, it makes it very difficult for the friends of Turkey to keep making the case for revitalizing Turkish-EU relations." He added. Bram Vermeulen said on Twitter on October 21, that it was "very hard" to get a name off the backlist once it's been put even if you have a "Turkish diplomat" who is willing to help.
