"Are Taraf's reports, reprinted widely by other newspapers on Wednesday and showing that the army had known about the attack, true? Is it true that images transmitted from unmanned aerial vehicles were almost watched live at the General Staff headquarters? These are the questions to which the public is awaiting answers," said Yasemin Çongar, deputy editor-in-chief of Taraf. She said a strongly worded statement about Taraf's report on Tuesday, indirectly accusing the paper of praising the PKK's actions, was "threatening" and appeared to be a "command" to the media on what to report.
In a hastily arranged press conference, Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ said the military was taking legal action over the leaked confidential information and said, "Those who present the actions of the separatist terrorist organization as successful acts are responsible for the blood that has been shed and that will be shed."
"In a democratic country, it is unacceptable for the chief of general staff to use such threatening rhetoric and give orders to the media," she said. She pledged that the newspaper would continue to publish similar documents as long as its editors see them as reliable and they fulfill the public's right for access to information.
Taraf declined to reveal its sources for the leak but earlier spoke of "a few good men" in the military, possibly referring to senior military officers providing the paper with critical material.
"Gen. Başbuğ's statement was too strong, and such a tone is unacceptable," said Alper Görmüş, a Taraf writer. "The chief of general staff is openly threatening journalists who follow such stories. … This is a big injustice to the press."
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