Turkish press freedom for dummies

We all witnessed the irritating headlines of a specific national newspaper after Freedom House released a report relegating the Turkish press from "partly free" to "not free." Eight columns of that newspaper had disparaging titles such as, "Erdoğan: Role model for infanticides." The content of the news, which does not provide any evidence or basis for its source, suggests that Erdoğan's political stance inspired the murderers of two children. The murder of these children has occupied much media coverage recently.

In a country where there is no freedom of press, the libelous claims about Erdoğan are not limited to this. I would like to give a few examples from the pre-electoral period. Addressing Erdoğan, the most popular columnist of the most well-read national newspaper stated: "You will not be remembered. Mind you, you do not have a place. There will be water cannons waiting to ensure that your grave remains spit-free."

Another author known for his Trotskyite identity wrote: "As I am a democrat who is against capital punishment, I will feel sorry when Erdoğan is taken to the gallows. But, I will also say God may delay punishments."

A writer of the Gülenist media stated: "In tomorrow's Turkey, any institutions, organizations and structures that are related to the AK Party will not survive. All of the structures that stand behind Erdoğan will be depurated completely."

All of these writers continue to work in their same jobs. Can you imagine a columnist who spat in the face of Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the ruler of Algeria since 1999, being given a place in the Algerian press? Or can you imagine the national newspaper of Kuwait associating the Kuwaiti Emir al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah with child murderers and still continuing to publish for even one more day before being shut down?

I am asking these questions because according to Freedom House's press freedom index in 2014, while the Algerian and Kuwaiti press are listed as "partly free," Turkey is deemed "not free." To my surprise, the level of freedom of the press in Turkey, where journalists offer a number of alternatives for Erdoğan ranging from his discharge to his execution, is equal to or even worse than that of Niger, Tanzania, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Liberia, Nicaragua, Nepal, South Sudan, Libya and Zambia.

If I were to write a book named "Turkish Press Freedom for Dummies" - it seems we have a growing need for it - first of all, I would write that the Turkish press is suppressed or burked mostly on the Armenian question and the Kurdish reconciliation initiative. The deep state in Turkey killed many Kurdish journalists throughout the 1990s. Hrant Dink was assassinated for this reason. Orhan Pamuk had to leave Turkey after being intimidated by Dink's murderers. Similarly, Kurdish singer Ahmet Kaya left Turkey following a lynch attempt led by Hürriyet newspaper.

As for today, despite all of its deficiencies and mistakes, we have a ruling party that broke these taboo topics almost with a revolutionist effort and enabled them to be discussed freely. This is an outcome of the constructive and democratic steps that were taken on both the Armenian and Kurdish issues.

Moreover, in 2013 and 2014, the same ruling party passed bills that gradually freed journalists, most of whom were in prison from 2011 due to unjust verdicts by Gülenaffiliated prosecutors. Only eight out of 70 imprisoned journalists are still in jail pending trial. And seven of them were already imprisoned prior to the AK Party taking power. Furthermore, most of these journalists - none of who held press cards - are facing heavy terror charges. In short, it is not possible to describe these 15 people merely as journalists.

We must accept that the press is not completely free in Turkey and the government sometimes tries to shape media outlets that wage struggles against it. But this does not indicate that there is no freedom of the press in Turkey, where hundreds of national television channels and radio stations as well as newspapers broadcast numerous views that appeal to various audiences. Besides, at least 60 percent of the Turkish media is anti-Erdoğan. Similarly, it does not mean that all the dismissed journalists were discharged by the government or that all television channels and newspapers are led by Erdoğan.

Even a brief browse through the publishing policies and columnists of Hürriyet Daily News and Today's Zaman - two other newspapers that publish in English - is sufficient to see that the label of "not free" does not match the current reality.