{"id":743,"date":"2014-06-16T12:39:43","date_gmt":"2014-06-16T12:39:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/?p=743"},"modified":"2014-06-16T12:39:43","modified_gmt":"2014-06-16T12:39:43","slug":"erdogan-demands-news-black-out-islamist-media-has-a-field-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/erdogan-demands-news-black-out-islamist-media-has-a-field-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Erdo\u011fan demands news black-out; Islamist media has a field day"},"content":{"rendered":"

The escalating crisis and the growing threat of ISIS (The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) in Iraq have many ramifications for the region, some unforeseen but many long predicted.<\/p>\n

For those of us that had been regularly writing and warning about possible consequences of short-sighted, opportunistic, sectarian and often ignorant policies of some of our leaders, there is much to report, comment and question. Yet, with dozens of people held hostage by a force that that already committed unfathomable acts of brutality, we have to be aware that everything we write and say may exacerbate the situation.<\/p>\n

So, why should we feel outraged when we hear the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan telling<\/a>\u00a0 the media to be quiet about the hostage crisis in Iraq?<\/p>\n

Knowing that there are special sensitivities in times of conflict does not stop us from upholding the principle of the right of the public to be informed accurately at all times.<\/p>\n

It is partly because the hectoring tone of the Prime Minister, long used to giving orders to the media and his use of the term \u201cprovocation by the media\u201d.<\/p>\n

But it is also because in the very same speech<\/a> delivered in Trabzon, days after 49 people were taken hostage in yet-to be explained circumstances in Iraq\u2019s sectarian strife, Mr Erdo\u011fan continues to use a divisive, polarising and harsh language against his political opponents at home. \u00a0No wonder Kemal K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu, the leader of the main opposition Republican People\u2019s Party (CHP) responded as saying that \u201che is finding it difficult not to be rebellious any more\u201d.<\/p>\n

Four days before expressing his dismay, Mr K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu\u2019s party had temporarily withdrawn two separate motions it submitted to Parliament against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan, citing extraordinary developments in Mosul requiring a national unity.<\/p>\n

Whilst the Prime Minister and his senior colleagues were demanding silence and submission from the independent media, Deputy Foreign Minister Naci Koru was telling<\/a> reporters on Sunday that they did not think the 49 consulate members were taken hostage. \u201cThey are abducted but not taken as hostages, because there is not a negotiation with militants for give and take,\u201d Koru said. In an even more questionable statement, he declared that the ISIS attack on the mainly Turkmen town of Tal Afar was already \u201crepulsed\u201d; only to be contradicted by the news that the city was overrun by militants.<\/p>\n

At times of national crisis, it would be seen as reasonable for a government to ask the media and the opposition to respect a temporary news black-out in order to protect lives and to avoid compromising security operations. But no one can demand the media to report information that is untrue or inaccurate or ignore an issue of public interest.<\/p>\n

Asking for a news black-out on anything other than sensitive information that may endanger lives is blatant censorship and it is unacceptable. Happily, despite pressures, there are still a handful of brave and serious journalists that continue to risk their lives and livelihoods to report from the danger zones and ask awkward questions.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, the Islamist press barely disguises its delight at the possibility of a new Sunni state appearing on Turkey\u2019s borders while some at the pro-government media enthusiastically pursue the \u201canti-Turkish foreign plot\u201d rhetoric, suggesting that it is the UK and\/or the USA that are really behind the turmoil created by ISIS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The escalating crisis and the growing threat of ISIS (The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) in Iraq have many ramifications for the region, some unforeseen but many long predicted. For those of us that had been regularly writing and warning about possible consequences of short-sighted, opportunistic, sectarian and often ignorant policies of some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[4],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}