Upon the invitation of the Liberals and Democrats in the European
Parliament, Ahmet Şık, the Turkish investigative journalist and the author
recently released from prison, briefed
MEPs in Brussels on March 28.
According to the
report in Hurriyet daily, "Şık cited the names of Ruşen Çakır, Nuray
Mert, Çiğdem Anad and Mehmet Altan as some of the journalists who were fired
after slight criticisms, and went further to elaborate on the elusive nature of
the Gülen community. “The Gülen community is a phantom. They are everywhere but
nowhere. They are the cause of fear in society because they control the
police,” he said. [...] The ongoing Ergenekon probe and other related trials
are also nothing but a farce intended to prosecute individuals and institutions
targeted by the Gülen community, according to Şık. Şık also rebuffed claims
that journalists jailed in Turkey
are not under arrest for their professional activities, and said the
prosecutors and judges who questioned them primarily asked about their
journalistic activities and sources."
Interestingly, Gulen movement's media flagship Today's Zaman covered
mainly the few remarks on the Turkish government and the Gulen movement
that Sik received after his speech [and distorted them]. Today's Zaman's
coverage was not only imbued with misinformation, but also
"mysteriously" was modified between March 28 and March 30 from a more
openly biased idiom to that of a more contained and better-tailored subjective
piece . In addition to those changes, the comments from the Q&A session
exclusively covered in the Today's Zaman article appear to have been distorted
when compared with the actual footage from the briefing and the Q&A that
followed (in English translation) here.
In the original article by Zaman, EP Liberal Group Deputy Chairman
Alexander Graf Lambsdorff is quoted as saying: “the Gülen movement is conveying
messages of tolerance and dialogue to the world. One could only be its
defender.” In fact, Lambsdorff, rather than defending the Gülen movement by
declaring it to be a movement to be defended, was actually asking a question to
Şık: “Gülen Community is a bit of a mysterious entity. The leader talks about
peace and harmony in an Islamic way; these are not the things we are opposed
to. What, do you believe, are they their real intentions?” After this
preposterous distortion of Lambsdorff's words, Zaman later edited its version
to “Alexander Graf Lambsdorff said the Gülen movement claimed to be doing good
things by conveying messages of tolerance and dialogue to the world and asked
Şık to comment.” The question remains: where does Gülen's media flagship's
audacity to distort a public statement come, and, who do they think they are
fooling by changing their initial statement?
Secondly, EP Liberal Group Andrew Duff, who is claimed to have “slammed”
Şık in the original version of the Today's Zaman article (later changed into
“criticized”), for his critical arguments against the Turkish government,
appears not to have criticized Şık, let alone “slam” him in his response.
Duff's comments seem rather to focus on AKP’s other activities (those directly
targeting the militarist networks and the Kemalist rule) and inquiring about
the tensions between the Gulenist movement and the AKP government. His
statement is as follows: “AKP government has tackled with the old military in a
direct way and no previous Kemalist government has dared to do so. The formal
position of the old military is still to protect the state from the citizen.
But constitutional reform process that is now in train is seeking to reverse
that, it is correct.” Duff's comment is not an unconditional support for AKP
government but the support is given as long as AKP’s is in concert with EU’s
political values and principles. It is not surprising to hear a parliament
member to celebrate government's attempts to deepen democracy in Turkey.
Apart from manipulating Lambsdorff's and Duff's words, Today's Zaman's
third deception is on Şık's response to a parliamentarian's incessant questions
about Gülen Movement's real intentions. In Today's Zaman, Şık's response
appears as follows:
"Asked about the Gülen movement’s true intentions, Şık said he also
doesn’t know and that he is only speculating as to what the movement is trying
to do. He added that he is trying to find an answer to the question of why a
civil society organization seeks to organize in the way it does."
What Şık actually said is the following:
"I am as curious as you are about Gülen community. I think, also,
that they are very mysterious, and I am one of the persons who is trying to
investigate into this mystery; that is why I found myself in prison. I always
said that I wasn't in prison because I wrote a book or I was a journalist, but
there is another question I have to ask you. Would I have been put into prison
if I hadn't written that book? Now AKP is in power, it is a single party in
power but it has an invisible partner, a ghost partner in coalition, that is,
the Gülen Foundation (community). They are like phantoms, they are everywhere
but they are nowhere. They are intimidators; they are the sources of fear in
the society. They are in control of the police. I am not talking about this in
rough words; I am a person who has always advocated the facts that I know. If
Gülen Community had been doing good things I would have praised them. But there
are still questions that need answers. Why would an NGO want to organize itself
in two of the most important bodies, the army and the police, in the
government? They need to provide answers to these questions and justify
them."
It seems like Today's Zaman chose to interpret the word
"mysterious" in a way to suggest that Şık said he did not know about
the movement's real aims and that he was speculating about it. However, Şık is
quite clear in his answers and in his “facts.”
For the full text of Sik's speech in Turkish, visit here.
The original version of the article in Today's Zaman as it appeared on 28 March 2012 is as follows:
Ahmet Şık speaks about Turkish media in Brussels
Journalist Ahmet Şık, who was recently released pending trial in a coup
plot case, has spoke about Turkish media in Brussels and accused Turkish
government of trying journalism, not journalists, urging authorities to stop
trying to silence members of the Turkish media.
Speaking at a panel discussions in Brussels on the
invitation of European Parliament’s Liberal and Democrats Group, Şık said his
arrest was “helpful” in terms of revealing problems the media faces in Turkey. Şık also
accused the Turkish government and faith-based Gülen movement of attempting to
intimidate journalists in Turkey.
Şık is among four journalists who were jailed pending trial in the OdaTV
case, launched as part of a probe into Ergenekon, a clandestine criminal
network accused of plotting to overthrow the government. Thirteen suspects are
facing charges of involvement in the media wing of Ergenekon. Şık and three
other journalists implicated in the case were released after the 11th hearing
of the OdaTV trial at the İstanbul 16th High Criminal Court two weeks ago.
Şık claimed that the Ergenekon probe is not about shedding light on Turkey’s dark history
and discredited investigations of the Sept.
12, 1981 coup and unsolved murders as deception. He stressed
that he is not defending the tutelage system in Turkey and added that
he doesn’t believe that sharia rule is being brought about in the country.
Speaking at the panel discussion after Şık, EP Liberal Group Deputy
Chairman Alexander Graf Lambsdorff said the Gülen movement is conveying
messages of tolerance and dialogue to the world. “One could only be its
defender,” Lambsdorff said.
Asked about the Gülen movement’s true intentions, Şık said he also
doesn’t know and that he is only speculating as to what the movement is trying
to do. He added that he is trying to find an answer to the question of why a
civil society organization seeks to organize in the way it does.
English member of the EP Liberal Group Andrew Duff slammed Şık for his
critical arguments against the Turkish government and said there is a need to
view issues through other prisms. Duff said the government has taken courageous
steps to bring about an end to military tutelage -- something previous Kemalist
governments have failed to do.
He also claimed that the current government is trying to ensure that in
the new constitution people will be protected from the state, not the other way
around. “The EP supports these kinds of positive reforms in Turkey,” Duff said.”
____
GIT North America possesses the two versions of Today's Zaman's articles
for the interested parties.
College students who are subjected to pre-trial detention have the right to attend their exams in their colleges -- if they pay for the gas bill of the prison transfer vehicle with which they would have to be transported to their colleges.
