Ertugrul Ozkok: I call for an ombudsman to assess the "trauma" accusations against Turkey

I present the latest action to everyone who calls themselves "democrat" to asses.Â

I am searching for a sincere, honest and impartial ombudsman, in the name of freedom of the press and democracy.

* * *

Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat, deputy chairman of the AKP, interviewed with a New York Times reporter in Istanbul.

We published both the English and Turkish versions in Hurriyet daily today (Tuesday).

It was not us who published the interview; it was the New York Times.

All we did was to quote his statements and make a word-for-word translation.

In the interview Firat harshly states: "The Ataturk lead revolution traumatized Turkish society."

His statement clearly says: "Turkish society has been traumatized."

Then he continues with his aspersions saying:

"Overnight they were told to change their dress, their language."

He uses the word "language".

I already knew that the alphabet was changed, but I don't remember when society was told to change their language.

This was followed by an odd statement: "Their religious ways were dismantled."

I translate this as, "Their religion was upturned".

***

 

 

A leading politician in Turkish politics interviews with one of the world's leading newspapers.

 

And he launches a thesis that will undoubtedly incite a huge debate in Turkey.

 

Then, we publish it.

 

But this gentleman refers to this (publication of his statements) as "psychological warfare".

 

Has a new unnamed regime emerged in this country?

 

Do we need to seek your permission before we publish?

 

We face unheard insults and pressure for publishing the statements of a Turkish politician that were reported in one of the most prestigious newspapers in the U.S. and those responsible for this abuse say "they do it in the name of democracy". Â

 

Had those statements remained in the pages of New York Times and the Turkish nation continued to be ignorant of what was written, there would be no problem.

 

On the other hand, none of this attention has been directed at the foreign press responsible for publishing the article; instead, they focus their resentment on us.

 

Do you see Turkey's ruling party's understanding of democracy?

 

***

 

This conduct is not good.

 

An administration showing this much intolerance of the media has either lost its nerve or it is revealing its true mindset.

 

They are intolerant of any voice that is different to their own.

 

In this country, even if a party wins the elections with 90 percent support of the electorate, there will still be different voices being raised.

 

In this day and age no one can prevent those voices from speaking out.

 

I am curious about the answer to one question.

 

Did he or did he not say these statements to the New York Times reporter during the interview?

 

If Firat did not make those quoted statements and underline the trauma aspect then I am ready and willing to amend this column accordingly.

 

However it appears that Firat did indeed make these statements and he should give up his unwarranted criticism of the media.

 

For this reason I direct Mr Firat’s criticisms to him.

 

We are not conducting a psychological war, but his actions reveal that they are and this can translate into:

 

Suppression and silencing of the media…

 

In this age such a move is impossible.