Different media groups blast Turkish PM's boycott call on newspapers
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Turkish newspapers, including those do not belong to Dogan Group, slammed on Saturday Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's call for boycott on opponent media organs. (UPDATED)
Almost every critical newspaper put Erdogan's call and the reactions on their headlines. "We have never seen something like this," a leftist independent Cumhuriyet daily's headline read on Saturday.
"The politicians and NGOs underlined Prime Minister's call in fact showed his real philosophy," the paper added.
Erdogan urged late on Thursday members of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) to boycott the newspapers owned by Dogan Media Group, a move drew fierce criticism from opposition parties and media organizations.
Tensions have flared over the past weeks between the government and the country's largest independent media group, Dogan Holding, over its coverage of corruption allegations that surrounded Erdogan and AKP. Erdogan had launched a war against Dogan Media Group.
The issue has prompted debate about press freedom in the European Union candidate country.
"Anti-democratic mentality polarizes the country," Hurriyet, the admiralship of the group wrote on Saturday. It said Erdogan's boycott call created huge reaction from all over the country.
The European Parliament would debate the political pressures on the Turkish media in the sessions next week, Hurriyet said. The issue would also be included in the 2008 Progress Report of Turkey due in November 5, the report added.
Leftist Radikal daily, another newspaper under Dogan Group, headlined as "Footsteps of Fascism” and it used a photo of a group of Nazis burning books. “In May 10, 1933 the Nazis launched a campaign against the publications they dislike and hundreds of thousands books were destroyed in three weeks,” the photo caption read.
ECONOMISTS' ARTICLE
Almost every newspaper in
Milliyet daily, another Dogan Group newspaper, said "Don't purchase this magazine!" in its headline on its Saturday edition and published an editorial as a response for boycott call.
"Some time ago fundamentalist Vakit daily made a similar call. The similarities between (Erdogan and a fundamentalist daily) should lead everybody to rethink about Erdogan's perception of democracy," it said.
"In fact the recent tense situation shows that we need some unwritten criteria of the EU. The politeness of the state men tops these criteria. The EU should have understood that the Prime Minister is not able to meet this," Milliyet added.
Vatan daily, owned by Dogan Group, made a comparison between the approaches of leaders in developed and underdeveloped countries to media and urged Erdogan to decide on which side he wants to stand.
Daily Mirror's headline for former premier Tony Blair as "Prime Monster," Italy's leftist magazine's photos showing Silvio Berlusconi as Hitler, and Rolling Stones' cover saying "The Worst President in History" for George W. Bush are the examples used by Vatan daily.
On the other hand the daily gave examples from political pressures from countries like
PRO-AKP NEWSPAPERS
Not only the Dogan Group newspapers but also media organs that have a pro-AKP editorial line or directly linked to the ruling party were critical of Erdogan's call.
Taraf daily, owned by leftist intellectuals and among the fierce supporters of the AKP policies, published the reactions Erdogan drew due to his call.
"We even had defending Dogan in our destiny," Taraf wrote as a headline.
"It is wrong for a country's Prime Minister to call for boycott on a media group. This cannot get along well with democracy and freedom of press," he wrote in his column on Saturday.