Hürriyet hits back at Davutoğlu over media ban at funeral, accusations
The logo of Turkish daily Hürriyet.
April 03, 2015, Friday/ 15:00:37/ TODAYSZAMAN.COM / ISTANBUL
One of Turkey's leading newspapers, Hürriyet, scolded Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on Friday over a selective ban on media outlets attending the funeral prayer for murdered prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz, emphasizing that a prime minister who assumes the authority to punish members of the media has no place in a democracy.
In a strongly worded editorial statement on its first page, Hürriyet disputed the media banimposed by Davutoğlu against a large number of news outlets, including the Doğan media group, during the funeral prayer of the slain prosecutor in the Eyüp Sultan Mosque on Wednesday. The daily argued that its reporters were barred from doing their jobs by the security guards of the prime ministry – on the instruction of Davutoğlu -- and that this ban was also enforced during Davutoğlu's press briefing, held in Eyüp's district governorate building after the funeral ceremony.
Drawing attention to Davutoğlu's remarks questioning the morals of the press outlets that had published the picture of prosecutor Kiraz with a gun pressed to his head by a member of the outlawed Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C), remarks that equated the publishing of this photo with “immorality” and “contributing terrorist propaganda,” the daily fiercely defended itself against the prime minister's accusations.
Drawing attention to Davutoğlu's remarks questioning the morals of the press outlets that had published the picture of prosecutor Kiraz with a gun pressed to his head by a member of the outlawed Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C), remarks that equated the publishing of this photo with “immorality” and “contributing terrorist propaganda,” the daily fiercely defended itself against the prime minister's accusations.
“We reject these remarks from the prime minister. It does not befit a prime minister to say something like this or resort to this method. We think that a prime minister's assuming the authority to punish newspapers, correspondents, photojournalists and cameramen or engage in the practice of accreditation has no place in a democracy that has freedom of the press,” Hürriyet said, adding that Davutoğlu's criticism is reminiscent of that particular to Third World regimes.
News outlets from the Doğan media conglomerate, such as the Hürriyet daily, the Radikal news portal, the Posta daily, CNN Türk and the Kanal D television station, as well as the İMC, and Samanyolu and Bugün television stations, were all barred from entering the mosque to cover the funeral prayer. The Sözcü, Taraf, Millet, Bugün, Zaman, Cumhuriyet, Ortadoğu, Yeniçağ and Birgün dailies were also prevented from entering the mosque.
Speaking after the funeral, Davutoğlu made clear that he himself gave the order to ban access. “Everyone must show respect to these peoples' [the prosecutor's family's] pain and not publish terrorist propaganda. From now on, everyone must be careful. Everyone must be careful with their behavior,” Davutoğlu stated.
Hürriyet, the Doğan media group's flagship daily, insisted that Prime Minister Davutoğlu's serious accusations are related to the debate about press freedoms regarding cases of terrorism, and emphasized that it had published the report of Kiraz's death, containing the controversial photo, under the headline, “Condemnation of terrorism,” in an effort to honor the boundary between peoples' right to access information and the promotion of terrorist propaganda.
The daily emphasized that it is independent, and should not be mistaken for newspapers aligned with political parties, saying: “Hürriyet is an independent newspaper. It draws its power from its readers. Hürriyet should not be confused for a political party's newspaper,” the daily said.
Stressing that Wednesday's media ban is not the first sanction that Hürriyet has encountered, the daily said it also faced media bans during the Sep. 12 coup regime and was slammed by the elected government due to its publications. The daily also recalled being given an extremely high fine, and said Prime Minister Davutoğlu may have forgotten the terrorist attack that targeted its previous Editor-in-Chief, Çetin Emeç, when criticizing the daily for promoting terrorist propaganda.
Stressing that Wednesday's media ban is not the first sanction that Hürriyet has encountered, the daily said it also faced media bans during the Sep. 12 coup regime and was slammed by the elected government due to its publications. The daily also recalled being given an extremely high fine, and said Prime Minister Davutoğlu may have forgotten the terrorist attack that targeted its previous Editor-in-Chief, Çetin Emeç, when criticizing the daily for promoting terrorist propaganda.
“When today's history is written in the future, our current prime minister will be noted as a political personality who punished the media and banned journalists from working during funerals,” Hürriyet stated. The daily said it only wants to do its job well, adding that it will not let anyone question its love for the homeland, referring to Davutoğlu's remarks that questioned banned media outlets' allegiance to their own country.
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