The bulb of Lighthouse

Sometimes, the prime minister even confesses how ridiculous his requests to a publisher have been. Did he not disclose in the pre-March 29 local elections offensive on Doğan Holding, for example, that he complained to Aydın Doğan about articles by some of the writers in the Doğan group of newspapers but Doğan told him that he could not "control" either the writers or the news desks? He, of course, had disclosed those discussions to "demonstrate" how "incapable" Doğan was in "controlling" what the people paid by his holding should think or write, but indeed provided an idea to the media under the government’s or the Fethullah Gülen brotherhood organization’s control what freedom of expression, freedom of press and perhaps even a wider intellectual independence might be.

It is not accidental at all. Often, talking with junior journalists employed in the allegiant media, I cannot manage to hide my sorrow hearing how close relations have been established between the government offices, headed by the Office of the Prime Minister and the newsrooms of those newspapers and TV stations. The interference by the premier, ministers and some top officials in the reporting of those media outlets appears to have reached to such dimensions that the editors were turned into "secretaries," taking instructions and applying them like robots.

Thus, we should not be surprised to see the glorification of the Davos theatrical show or the "Rasmussen horse trading" being presented as a major diplomatic success. Nor should we be surprised to see efforts to demonize the elected new government in northern Cyprus while eulogies are being made to a terrorist Hamas, despite its refusal to disavow terrorism, lay down arms and convert itself into a civilian political party, just because it received a majority of the vote in the last Palestinian elections. But the government and its allegiant media are complaining of European hypocrisy toward Turkey.

The AKP’s allergy

The real allergy of the AKP to freedom of the press is a result of its inability despite exerted efforts to "bring into line" the entire Turkish media and keep away from the nation’s eyes the allegations of gross corruption made in the name of Islam by the so-called Lighthouse Islamic charity organization; the establishment of a major TV channel with funds siphoned from that organization and claims that some of the money siphoned was indeed used in the financing of the AKP, a charge which if it could be verified could end up with AKP’s closure by court.

Of course, in the absence of a court verdict verifying the crime, no one should be considered a criminal. No one can come up with a claim that all the allegations are correct. However, a government that came to office in 2002 with the claim that it would wage a determined fight against corruption is at least expected to help speed up the judicial process and avoid giving an image as if it has been trying to stall it. Is it not frustrating to read statements from the justice minister, both the former and the new one, that the file sent by the German court that verified the "worst corruption case of modern times in Germany" and sentenced the Germany branch of the Lighthouse "gang" was still being translated into Turkish though more than two months have passed since the file was sent to Turkey?

Or, is it not frustrating to read statements by a minister that a file sent by Germany with its Turkish translation would still be translated into Turkish before judicial action can be taken on it? Obviously, wishing to have opportunities and the capability to hide such maddening and humiliating claims from the public eye and indeed having such power (for example, by denying permission for the trial of a top bureaucrat under the law on the procedures of trial of civil servants) is indicative of the level of democracy and transparent administration in a country as well as to what extent an administration might be corrupt.