The prime minister criticized a Milliyet daily writer who said, “Politicians need to talk less,” by saying, “Actually, people like you need to write less.”
Like all leaders, Erdoğan has people who like him and people who dislike him. If you are in the limelight and in a position where you can take action, then you are bound to be criticized. I can understand why the prime minister lambastes some columnists. He isn’t referring to those who make respectful criticisms. Unfortunately, there are some rude and disrespectful writers that degrade and insult their targets in their articles. There are editors-in-chief that never say anything about these articles and always find some way to defend themselves. I can explain what I mean by giving one example: Hürriyet daily columnist Yılmaz Özdil. There is no other man in the world that writes as profanely and indecently as he does. He personifies a particular breed of columnists in Turkey.
He does not insult just individuals, he insults million. Indeed, he does not insult them, he basically swears at them. It was him who called those who voted for the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) “jarheads.” When the possibility of giving deputies a red license plate was being debated, he had the nerve to write, “The red license plates of deputies in the Turkish Parliament should be attached to the a-- of those who support them [the AK Party].” (Aug. 25) I was embarrassed to write the word out completely. I apologize to our readers but I wanted to be able to explain the level of shamelessness. Now, how can this man have anything to do with journalism?
Who allowed this person’s articles to be published in the Hürriyet daily? Who presented him as the daily’s third-page charm? Ertuğrul Özkök. Where do they find these “hitmen”? Does the public not see the situation at hand?
What upsets me is that the prime minister is taking them seriously. The majority of people commends and supports the prime minister for his courage in pursuing democratization, his stance against juntas and his leadership. Believe there are even people who pray that Erdoğan won’t stoop to their level.
What’s the purpose of showing a reaction and calling people “enemies of the nation and state?” Just as Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli were wrong in declaring the prime minister a “traitor” and a “divider,” it was wrong of the prime minister to declare a portion of columnist enemies of the state and nation.
Turkey is passing through perhaps its most critical days in the past 100 years. We want our prime minister to remain calm and silent during this historical turning point. We want him to know how to put up with criticism and refrain from hurting anyone’s feeling even if he is hurt. There are many people that offend but we don’t want him to offend anyone.
Let’s get back to the essence of the ties between the ruling power and the media. The media’s (press’) relationship with the ruling power has been problematic since the beginning of the republic. The media is the most important pillar of the military tutelage regime. The media has played a role in every coup preparation and has always defended junta supporters. And the media outlets have always received compensation for their services.
There has always been talk about a free and objective press but this was always wanted only for “laic-Kemalist elites.” These elites saw themselves as the real guardians of this country and formed a community around this common view. It is for this reason that the media we are talking about is truly a “community media.” Even when defending democracy they worked by way of limiting the freedom of religion and conscience to make the public sphere a place that provides privileges and profits only to themselves.
But in the end, they ruined it for themselves. They were, just like the army, unable to fulfill their real duties because they were too busy dealing with the country and engineering the society. They tore their own community away from the developing and progressing world. They dropped down a level. They ultimately became a media that solely wrote about whatever it was their community members needed to read and hear. It is for this reason that they are doomed to have their Özdils and Çölaşans.
As the waves of democratization shake all pillars, it will become obvious that they too will no longer be able to remain standing.
