The Security Director Found the Perpetrator: Media

Speaking at the ceremony held for two policemen Huseyin Apaydin and Salih Capkin who were killed in the bomb raid on the British Consulate, Cerrah said "If it were not for the irresponsibility of our press, our 27 citizens would not have been killed. Just when an hour was left between us and the perpetrators, the press declared them and their accomplices."Cerrah who was watching the Turkish-Lithuanian soccer match in Lithuania when the twin raids were carried out on the HSBC Bank and British Consulate on Thursday, said that “If it were not for the irresponsibility of our press, our 27 citizens would not have been killed. But these irresponsible broadcast and news resulted in the death of 27 citizens. We were on the brink of catching the perpetrators. Therefore, Mr.Prime Minister, there certainly must be some amendments on the Press Law.” “After the September 11 raids, everything was written by the U.S. press, but not the perpetrators. Our press enabled the perpetrators to escape. Is this free press? They even wrote irresponsible things about me (about him watching the match in Lithuania). “ PM Tayyip Erdogan who was also in the ceremony, said that “The world had a September 11 incident. Is there anything in the hands of the world media other than footage of the twin towers? What is our media gaining by disclosing each detail? The scream of the security director, displays all.” Recalling that the Istanbul DGM prosecutor imposed a ban on news about the disasters, he said that “Media keeps on airing horrifying images. For God’s sake; how are we going to fight terrorism? This requires responsibility. How are we going to continue this fight as long as we are far from the feeling of responsibility? I call on everybody to assume responsibility.” The Turkish Journalists’ Association reacted at the statements of Cerrah and Erdogan. A statement by the Association said that the accusations made by both Erdogan and Cerrah against the media, constituted examples of irresponsibility. “These statement were made in a climate where emotions reigned before logic. We are accustomedto be held responsible of failures of others. But an accusation at this scale, and such a twisting of the facts, occurs for the first time. At present we can not respond to these accusations at the same measure because of the psychological state in the country. But we are underlining that these statements are unfair and unlawful” a statement by the Journalists’ Association said.�