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Turkey Zaman newspaper: Defiant last edition as Turkey police raid

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illustration by gagrulenet

illustration by gagrulenet

Turkey’s biggest newspaper, Zaman, has condemned its takeover by the authorities in a defiant last edition published just before police raided it, 
Saturday’s edition said Turkey’s press had experienced “one of the darkest days in its history”.

Police raided Zaman’s Istanbul offices hours after a court ruling placed it under state control, but managers were still able to get the edition to print.

Police later fired tear gas to disperse Zaman supporters.

Water cannon was also used as about 500 people gathered in front of Zaman’s headquarters on Saturday. They chanted “Free press cannot be silenced!”

A number of the journalists returned to work, but some of them tweeted that:

they had lost access to internal servers and were not able to file articles

they were not able to access their email accounts

the newspaper’s editor-in-chief Abdulhamit Bilici and a leading columnist had been fired

One reporter, Abdullah Bozturk, said attempts were also under way to wipe the newspaper’s entire online archive.

The European Union’s response has been to issue weak statements of concern, the BBC’s Mark Lowen says.

It is accused of acting softly on Turkey as it needs the country’s support in managing the refugee crisis.

The paper is closely linked to the Hizmet movement of influential US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, which Turkey says is a “terrorist” group aiming to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government.

Mr Gulen was once an ally of Mr Erdogan but the two fell out. Many Hizmet supporters have been arrested.

The court ruled on Friday that Zaman, which has a circulation of some 650,000, should now be run by administrators. No explanation was given.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the move was “legal, not political”.

“It is out of the question for neither me nor any of my colleagues to interfere in this process,” he said in a television interview.

The government in Ankara has come under increasing international criticism over its treatment of journalists.

The EU’s diplomatic service said that Turkey “needs to respect and promote high democratic standards and practices, including freedom of the media”, while the US described the move as “troubling”.

The Saturday edition of the newspaper was printed before the government-backed administrators had taken control.

“The Constitution is suspended,” a headline in large font on a black background reads on the front page.

“The Turkish press has experienced one of the darkest days in its history,” the paper adds.

“Turkey’s mass circulation newspaper was seized despite Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s assurance that ‘free press is our red line.'”

The English-language edition echoed its sister paper with the headline: “Shameful day for free press in Turkey.”

Police entered the building in Istanbul late on Friday, firing tear gas at protesters who had gathered outside.

Hundreds of Zaman supporters defied the police. One held a placard saying: “We will fight for a free press.”

“I believe that free media will continue even if we have to write on the walls,” Zaman’s editor-in-chief Abdulhamit Bilici said shortly before the raid on Friday. “I don’t think it is possible to silence media in the digital age.”

He was speaking to the Cihan news agency, which was also affected by the court order.

Freedom of the press in Turkey

Turkey ranks 149th among the 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index 2015

Media organisations in Turkey say that more than 30 journalists are currently behind bars; most are of Kurdish origin

The government argues journalism in Turkey is among the most free in the world

Terrorist State of Turkey Police raided the headquarters of the Zaman daily and used pepper gas against thousands of readers

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CcvBLZlW0AERWKg.jpg_largePolice raided the headquarters of the Zaman daily and used pepper gas against thousands of readers late on Friday after an İstanbul court appointed trustees to take over the management of the Feza Media Group, which includes Turkey’s biggest-selling newspaper, the Zaman daily, as well as the Today’s Zaman daily and the Cihan news agency, dealing a fresh blow to the already battered media freedom in Turkey.

Zaman employees waiting near the entrance said police immediately tear-gassed readers to disperse them without even delivering the court decision.

Employees shouted ‘free press cannot be silenced,” as hundreds of police officers entered the building.

The decision was issued by the İstanbul 6th Criminal Court of Peace at the request of the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, which claimed that the media group acted upon orders from what it called the “Fethullahist Terrorist Organization/Parallel State Structure (FETÖ/PDY),” praising the group and helping it achieve its goals in its publications.

The prosecutor also claimed that the alleged terrorist group is cooperating with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorist organization to topple the Turkish government and that high-level officials of the two groups have had meetings abroad.

The court decision means that the entire management and the editorial board of Feza Media Group companies will be replaced by the three-member board named by the court.

https://youtu.be/wXnl44niSZA

A crowd of Zaman and Today’s Zaman journalists, readers and supporters gathered outside Zaman’s headquarters as court-appointed trustees were expected to arrive at any moment.

Zaman Editor-in-Chief Abdülhamit Bilici addressed his colleagues on the grounds of the newspaper, calling the court decision a “black day for democracy” in Turkey as journalists and other newspaper workers held up signs that read: “Don’t touch my newspaper” and chanted “free press cannot be silenced!”

“Today, we are experiencing a shameful day for media freedom in Turkey. Our media institutions are being seized,” Today’s Zaman Editor-in-Chief Sevgi Akarçeşme said as she addressed the crowd.

“As of today, the Constitution has been suspended,” she said, referencing to the fact that the Turkish Constitution forbids seizure of printing houses and press equipment.

EU condemns Turkish raids against media as ’unacceptable’

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The European Union has said a media assault on Zaman daily and other media outlets is an “unacceptable attack” against freedom of media, urging Turkish authorities to respect rights of defendants. Report TodayZaman

Federica Mogherini, High Representative for Foreign affairs and Security Policy and Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, said in a joint statement on Sunday that the police raids and arrests of a number of journalists and media representatives in Turkey are an unacceptable attack against freedom of media, which is a core principle in any real democracy.

“We expect that the principle of presumption of innocence will prevail and recall the inalienable right for an independent and transparent investigation in case of any alleged wrongdoing, with full respect of the rights of the defendants,” the statement said.

“Coming only a few days after our visit to Turkey,” the commissioners said, “which has underlined the importance of EU-Turkey relations, this operation denies the European values and standards Turkey aspires to be part of and which are the core of reinforced relations.”

They recalled that progress in accession negotiations with any candidate country depends on the full respect for the rule of law and fundamental rights.

“We will convey our concerns to the [European] Council, which will on Tuesday discuss enlargement policy, including Turkey. We expect that the strong EU commitment given by our Turkish counterparts during our visit to be translated into deeds,” the commissioners said.

Earlier on Sunday, the EU commission expressed its concern over the Dec. 14 operation in Turkey targeting media outlets and journalists affiliated with the Gülen movement, saying it will continue to follow developments related to the operation with its local delegation.

“We are very concerned about reports reaching us from Turkey about detained journalists and media representatives. Our delegation on the ground is working hard to give us a full picture,” European Commission Spokesperson Maja Kocijancic said.

Ekrem Dumanlı, the editor-in-chief of the Zaman daily, and Hidayet Karaca, the chairman of Samanyolu TV, were detained on Sunday in a police operation that targeted journalists, TV scriptwriters and former police officers.

European Parliament (EP) President Martin Schulz described the raid on the Zaman daily as “troubling” and underlined that media freedom is one of the key values for full membership to the EU, which Turkey has been struggling to be a part of for decades.

“#ÖzgürBasınSusturulamaz [The free press cannot be silenced] key principle to join EU. #Turkey and #pressfreedom proceed in different directions. Raid on #Zaman very troubling,” Schulz said via Twitter.

The #ÖzgürBasınSusturulamaz hashtag has become a worldwide trending topic on Twitter on Sunday. European officials, deputies, politicians as well as human rights organizations have raised their voice on Twitter against the operation on the media.

EP’s Turkey rapporteur shocked by Sunday’s detentions

EP Turkey rapporteur Kati Piri, who recently paid a visit to Turkey for her progress report, also expressed astonishment over the detentions targeting leading media outlets in the country, saying the operation is an “attack on press freedom.”

“Shocked by arrests in Turkey. An attack on press freedom, going after media that criticize government. Waiting for official explanation,” Piri said on her Twitter account.

In her earlier remarks to the Cihan news agency last week, Piri said press freedom will be included in Turkey’s progress report as it is one of the core issues which is at the heart of the values of the European Union.

More than 20 people were also detained in a nationwide operation early on Sunday. A list of suspects to be detained, released by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, shows that 32 people were to be detained.

The suspects are accused of forming, leading or being a member of an armed terrorist organization, forgery and slander, according to a statement released by the prosecutor’s office.

The detentions came days after a government-sponsored bill that made it possible to arrest suspects based on “reasonable doubt” was signed into law.

EP vice president: Media arrests will end Turkey’s accession

Alexander Lambsdorff, the vice president of the EP, stated that the Turkish government’s acts targeting the media are jeopardizing its EU membership.

In his remarks to the Cihan news agency, Lambsdorff said Sunday’s detentions demonstrate “beyond reasonable suspicion” that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has given up its ambitions to join the EU.

“Turkey will be either be a democratic country with an open society and free media or it will squander its future as an oppressive middle income country that will continue to lose its best and brightest to Europe and the United States just as it has under military dictatorship. Today’s events seem to indicate that the government’s choice is for oppression. That is sad news for all friends of Turkey in Europe and around the world but mostly, it is sad news for the people of Turkey,” he said.

Lambsdorff also stated that the media arrests will end Turkey’s EU accession process in Twitter.

In his remarks to Today’s Zaman, Council of Europe Spokesperson Daniel Holtgen said Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjørn Jagland is following the situation in Turkey closely and that the issue will be on Jagland’s agenda during his upcoming visit to Turkey.

“Mr. Jagland says he is always concerned when media freedom is at risk and when journalists are detained or in any way handled in their work. This applies not only to Turkey but to any member state country of the Council of Europe when such events take place, as we’ve seen for the last 24 hours. So we’re examining this closely and the secretary-general will discuss the event with the government in Turkey in early January when we make an official visit to Ankara,” Holtgen stated.

Senior Turkey researcher with the Human Rights Watch Emma Sinclair-Webb viewed the raid on the Zaman daily and Samanyolu TV as another attempt to silence the critical media in Turkey.

“Detention of journos, editors in wider operation looks like another attempt to crack down on Turkey’s critical media. Burden on Turkish govt to show evidence to justify accusing Zaman journos of being part of organization attempting to capture state power,” she wrote on Twitter.

Another reaction came from Sir Graham Watson, the leader of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party in the EP, who said Turkey is illustrating the features of an authoritarian regime.

“European Liberal Democrats are deeply disturbed by the arrests of TV editor Hidayet Karaca and newspaper editor Ekrem Dumanli. Turkey is now displaying characteristics more normally associated with authoritarian regimes. Freedom of expression seriously under threat,” he said via his Twitter account.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) shared reports related to the raid and detention on its Twitter account.

Former Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee Co-chairman Joost Lagendijk said the EU will harshly condemn the detentions. He said people will find it hard to understand why these detentions took place as Zaman and Today’s Zaman are well known in Europe.

“People will realize that the acts of [President Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan and the government have exceed the limits both within and outside the country. Many people see authoritarian tendencies in Turkey. When you search for Erdoğan and authoritarianism in Google, thousands of pages appear. These two words, Erdoğan and authoritarianism, are unfortunately mentioned together,” he said, assessing the detention of the large-circulating daily’s editor-in-chief as “one of the worst events that can happen in a democratic country.”

Turkey: Pro-gov’t Star daily fires two critical columnists

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ISTANBUL

186553_newsdetailJournalist Mustafa Akyol (L) and Foreign Policy Analyst Sedat Laçiner (Photo: Today’s Zaman)

Star, a pro-government daily, has fired two of its critical columnists, Sedat Laçiner and Mustafa Akyol. Both columnists were known to be liberal supporters of the government in the past.

Akyol and Laçiner announced on their Twitter accounts on Saturday that the newspaper had asked them to suspend writing for the daily for a period of time. Akyol, who is also a contributor to the International New York Times, thanked the newspaper and said he will continue to write what he believes. Although known for their pro-government stances, both columnists did not refrain from criticizing many of the government’s policies they deemed flawed.

Akyol, a liberal democrat and author of “Islam without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty,” said the daily censored one of his columns several months ago. He shared the censored piece with his readers via Twitter.

Laçiner, a prominent foreign policy analyst who headed a well-known think tank, the International Strategic Research Organization (USAK), vehemently criticizes the government’s recent policies, which many observers argue has deepened societal polarization.

Star, along with other fellow pro-government newspapers, has fired dozens of columnists and journalists in the past year as the government stepped up its measures to restrict freedom of the media. Freedom House ranked Turkey in the category of “Not Free” this year with regard to press freedom, while other press advocacy bodies have described Turkey as one of the worst places to do journalism.

Firing critical figures has turned to a worrying pattern that makes it harder for reporters to practice journalism in an increasingly authoritarian environment. The authenticity of a number of wiretapped phone conversations revealing the enormous scale of government meddling in media has been confirmed by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan; this runs against the basic tenets of liberal democracy, in which press freedom is a key feature of a free and democratic society.

Among other worrying signs that plunge journalism into an unfavorable terrain in Turkey, economic hardships have also taken a toll on some media outlets, with the venerable Radikal daily saying it will continue online after suspending its print edition. The announcement has been met with mixed responses, with loyal readers rushing to express their fury against what they describe as the existence of an unhealthy economic environment fed by patronage ties between government authorities and media executives.

While some newspapers manage to survive economic challenges thanks to generous funding from business tycoons who have cultivated strong and close ties with the government, several media outlets have had to throw in the towel by either scaling down their size and personnel or by saying good-bye to journalism.