Milliyet fires 7 journalists who are critical of government

Mehveş Evin and Meral Tamer (R).

August 28, 2015, Friday/ 12:14:52/ TODAYSZAMAN.COM / ISTANBUL

The Milliyet newspaper has fired two columnists and five correspondents who had become known for writing reports that were critical of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government.

Columnist Mehveş Evin, who was fired by the daily on Friday, commented on the issue via her Twitter account, saying: “I have been fired from the Milliyet newspaper. I still don't know why. But, I will not give in and I will continue to write!”

On Thursday, the daily did not publish a column written by Evin about recent clashes between the security forces and members of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the Silvan district of Diyarbakır province and the Silopi district of Şırnak province.

The pro-government Yeni Şafak newspaper called Evin “a PKK sympathizer” in a report in which it covered Milliyet's decision to fire her and six other journalists. Yeni Şafak accused her of engaging in provocations during the nationwide Gezi protests of 2013 against the AK Party government, claiming that after the Gezi attempts failed, Evin began to attack the AK Party in her columns over the recent increases in violence in southeastern towns such as Silopi.

The daily also fired columnist Meral Tamer and three correspondents from its Ankara office -- Kemal Göktaş, Evin Demirtaş and Sertaç Koç -- on Thursday afternoon. Two other Milliyet correspondents also announced via Twitter on Friday that they had been fired by the daily. One of them, Semra Pelek, wrote on Twitter: "I have been fired by the Milliyet daily. This is very good for me." The other correspondent, Alper İzbul, wrote on Friday: "The Milliyet newspaper has fired me. Good luck..."

Göktaş also posted a tweet on Thursday evening about his dismissal, saying: “The Milliyet daily has fired me, Evin Demirtaş and Sertaç Koç from its Ankara office. Good luck to everyone!”

According to media reports, the daily is planning to fire 25 more people in the coming days.

The daily previously fired columnist Kadri Gürsel over a tweet in which he criticized President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, accusing him of being responsible for the presence of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Turkey. Additionally, Aslı Aydıntaşbaş -- a columnist critical of the government -- announced her departure from Milliyet on May 29 in what appears to be another instance of increasing government pressure on journalists and the media that criticize it.

The head of the Milliyet daily, businessman Erdoğan Demirören, is believed to have played a critical role in the daily's decision to fire the journalists. Demirören, a close associate of President Erdoğan, has fired many journalists and forced prominent figures to resign upon Erdoğan's orders. Critics believe the patronage relationship between media owners and the government operates against the concept of media freedom and narrows the space for critical voices in Turkey to speak freely.

For instance, an audio clip purportedly of then-Prime Minister Erdoğan having a phone conversation with Demirören in which they spoke of a story published in one of his dailies was uploaded onto YouTube on March 7 of last year. The voice allegedly belonging to Erdoğan criticizes Demirören over the publication of the minutes of a meeting between Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the PKK, and a delegation from the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) in Öcalan's prison cell on the island of İmralı. Demirören is heard explaining to Erdoğan that he was also shocked to see it on the page and that he would do what was necessary to fix the situation. However, after failing to calm Erdoğan, Demirören is heard crying. Toward the end of the conversation, the 76-year-old Milliyet owner is heard saying, "How did I get involved in this business?" while in tears following the Erdoğan's insults.

Journalists' colleagues slam their dismissals from Milliyet

In a meeting held in Gaziantep province on Friday, dozens of journalists and intellectuals criticized the Milliyet daily for dismissing its staff who are critical of the government and highlighted the significance of freedom of the press in a democratic country. The meeting was held as part of the "Press for Freedom" project.

This large-scale project has being conducted jointly by the Delegation of the European Union to Turkey and the Ankara Journalists Association.

Speaking during the meeting, the project's Southeastern Anatolia Committee President Murat Atay said the dismissals of journalists for reports that are critical of the country's political administration, the pressure applied on journalists critical of the government and the accreditation bans slapped on critical media outlets by the government are the main obstacles to freedom of the press in Turkey.

The Turkish Journalists Union (TGS) released a written statement on Friday, saying that the Milliyet daily's decision to fire seven members of the profession in two days cannot be acceptable. The TGS's statement also said that no one should stifle the public's right to information by dismissing critical journalists.

Erdoğan and the AK Party government have been conducting an intensifying struggle against independent media outlets to silence their voices after a corruption probe went public on Dec. 17, 2013 and implicated senior members of the government, sons of three now-former ministers and government-affiliated figures. Since then, dozens of journalists have been fired and many others have faced various legal proceedings and even been arrested for carrying out their jobs.

Keywords: journalists , Milliyet , dismissal , AK Party