What is wrong with independent journalism?


Date posted: December 6, 2013

TUĞBA AYDIN

Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç called on prosecutors to take legal action on Monday against the Taraf daily and journalist Mehmet Baransu, who revealed a controversial National Security Council (MGK) document last week, signed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in 2004, which detailed a planned crackdown on the Hizmet (Gülen) movement.

Taraf published a document last Thursday, prepared by the MGK on Aug. 25, 2004, whose contents persuaded the government to curb the activities of the Gülen movement by a series of measures. It advises the government to use legal methods to impose harsh penalties on Gülen-affiliated institutions.

Eyüp Can stated in his Radikal column on Thursday that if he had found the document released by Baransu, he would also have revealed it, as it sheds light on a turbulent period in Turkey’s history. Can agreed with the document’s publication but believes that the time was not right, as members of the Hizmet movement are currently in conflict with the government over its plan to close exam preparation schools. According to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), it is not a crime to publish a secret document which is in the public interest, wrote Can. Can also adds that even if the government reacts harshly to the release of secret documents, the sharing of information liberates people.

According to Gültekin Avcı’s Thursday column in Bugün, the document plainly contradicts the assertions of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin. The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) accused the government of using the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) to compile a profiling database of files on the activities of 15 CHP deputies in August. After this accusation, both Erdoğan and Ergin denied the CHP claim, saying that such activities had not taken place since November, 2002.

Source: Today's Zaman , December 6, 2013

Tags: | | | |


Related News

Ex-minister denies claims over helping ‘parallel structure’ while in office

Former Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin has denied allegations in a recent police report which claimed that he helped the so-called ‘parallel structure’ setting up its own cadre at the Justice Ministry during his term in office.

Turkish imam in Australia mobilizes worshippers to spy on Gülen movement

Salih Arslan, a member of the board of the Ankara-funded Süleymaniye mosque in the Australian city of Perth, was revealed to have incited worshippers to spy on followers of the Gülen movement and affiliated institutions, including schools.

Deputy PM denies profiling of citizens in gov’t, private sector

Sending messages on New Year’s Eve on his Twitter account, Parliament’s Constitutional Commission head and AK Party deputy Burhan Kuzu claimed that “an intelligence report that was submitted to the prime minister detailed a parallel structure within state,” adding that some 2,000 people’s names are listed in that report.

‘Lies run sprints, but the truth runs marathons’

Erdoğan has believed that Mr. Fethullah Gülen and the Hizmet movement are the only ones left that could challenge his power and prevent him from becoming president.

Indian scholar: Fethullah Gülen a great blessing for Turkey, World

7 June 2012 / OSMAN ÜNALAN, NEW DELHI Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, an Islamic scholar in India, has praised the Hizmet movement (aka Gulen movement) and its activities for helping Turkey get rid of negative and biased views about Islam and transforming it into a much-admired center for more self-aware Muslims. Speaking at a symposium titled […]

Ex-AK Party deputy Özdalga: Gov’t wants to make judiciary subordinate to executive power

“The issue is not only about corruption, it is also about the independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers, things at the heart of the democratic regime. There is no democracy without these,” says Haluk Özdalga, who was a member of the ruling party since 2007 until his recent resignation.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Turkey Is No Longer a Reliable Ally

Former Turkish President Gül denies having any relationship with the Gülen movement or Fethullah Gülen but history tells…

Why the West ‘failed to understand’ Turkey

TUSKON denies mass resignations after corruption probe

PA State Rep. Margo Davidson reflects on her visit to Turkish refugees in Greece

Twitter user apologizes for Gülen ‘traitor’ insult, blames politicians

1,500 pounds of frozen meat for needy Staten Island families

Copyright 2024 Hizmet News