World press on president Obama and press freedom in Turkey (February 15, 2013)

"While U.S. Ambassador Frank Ricciardone’s recent statements on press freedom and justice caused a minor tremor in Turkish-U.S. relations, President Barack Obama’s replies to questions on the same theme to daily Milliyet’s Washington representative Pınar Ersoy drew quite a contradictory picture. President Obama is on a completely different wavelength," the article by Sedat Ergin published by Hurriyet reads. 

"As a matter of fact, Pınar Ersoy left nothing vague in her question. First, she referred to the Council of Europe report that stated, “there are some long-standing, systemic dysfunctions in the Turkish justice system adversely affecting the enjoyment of human rights.” She then listed the prolonged periods of arrests, the arrests of journalists and activists, and then mentioned the criticism that there was “democratic deficit” in Turkey."

"Obama once again demonstrated his reluctance to abandon his usual position of not making an issue of the problems concerning democracy and freedom of expression in his relationship with Erdoğan. Except for the talks in Canada in 2010, Obama has preferred not to tackle these sensitive subjects in bilateral talks with Erdoğan," the author writes. 

"Obama also wants to keep his working relationship with Erdoğan on a smooth platform, as Erdoğan is a leader he needs in order to tackle many thorny issues such as Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. He wants to avoid such issues as press freedom shadowing his dialogue with Erdoğan." 

"Indeed, Obama’s viewpoint of not making international human rights issues his top priority is also a significant factor here. In the final analysis, U.S. interests once again surpass concerns regarding democracy such as freedom of the press. As things stand, it can be said that Obama has, to a certain extent, a more conservative line when compared to other Democratic presidents before him. In this respect, it would not be a mistake to say that the priorities that dominated Republican Ronald Reagan’s Turkey policy in the 1980s overlap with the line of Obama’s in 2013," the author concludes.