Dr. Cüneyt Akalin | Freedom for the weekly "Aydinlik" magazine and its editors | 25.12.2009

Freedom for the weekly "Aydinlik" magazine and its editors

Remarkable developments which will have a deep impact on the future of the region have been recently observed in Turkey. 6 December 2009 issue of the weekly magazine "Aydinlik", one of the most influential press organs of the opposition in Turkey was seized and its publication was banned for one month.

This penalty is reminiscent of the court decisions of the military rule of the 1980’ies. It is censure on the media. Article 28 of the Turkish Constitution stipulates that "the press must be free and it cannot be censored." However, it is a known fact that the US collaborators have no respect for law. On the other hand, Turkey, where this court decision was taken is a country the intellectuals of which have been fighting against censorship for over 100 years.

What is interesting is that this penalty on "Aydinlik" came right after the tete-a-tete meeting of Mr. Tayyip Erdogan, prime minister of Turkey, with the US president Obama. It is a strong possibility that the banning of "Aydinlik" was decided at this meeting.

The reason for the seizure and the banning of "Aydinlik" is stated by the court as the publishing of the article titled "Defending the Motherland is a Crime but Partitioning it is Free: Operation for the Liquidation of the Turkish Army". The said article talked about how the generals of the Turkish Army were placed under threat with the operation titled "Ergenekon" which is the name given to a big law-case of hundreds of suspects, with an indictment of 5000 pages, which all the anti-US and anti-Erdoрan forces are dumped in.

The article also talked about how, on the other hand, the terrorist activities of the Kurdish nationalists, the PKK have been increasing rapidly.

No concrete reason is cited for the banning of the magazine. The court corollary states that "the propaganda of a terrorist organization was made" and "the government officials were targeted". However it is not stated which terrorist organization is meant and which government officials are placed as the targets of which terrorist organization.

In other words, "Aydinlik" is made the victim of disinformation, an anti-propaganda operation. Those who have followed "Aydinlik" know very well that it is the most democratic magazine of the country which resolutely opposes terrorism, let alone "praising terrorist activity" as it is alleged. The editors of "Aydinlik" are patriotic and revolutionary intellectuals who have been struggling against Gladio terrorism and US plans, everybody knows this.

The Editor in Chief of "Aydinlik" Under Arrest over one Month.

There has been other assaults on "Aydinlik" before. Both the editor-in-chief of "Aydinlik", Deniz Yildirim and the editor of a TV channel, "ULUSAL KANAL", Ufuk Akkaya had been imprisoned two months before for publishing and broadcasting a telephone conversation between the Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoрan and a close friend of his, an industrialist.

The members of the Workers’ Party who share the same political and ideological stand, on the other hand, are accused of participating in the so-called terrorist organization, "Ergenokon" and have been in prison for over two years.

Recently, when there are consistent efforts to determine the fate of the Middle East in the direction planned by Mr. Obama, "Aydinlik", the representative of a 90 year-old leftist tradition, will continue struggling against the US desires, to frustrate the plots of the concoctors.