Claim of Yeni Akit newspaper: ‘Evrensel newpaper is going to get shut-down’
Known for its provocative releases, pro-AKP newspaper Yeni Akit has claimed that Evrensel newspaper is next to be shut-down after Özgür Gündem.
Published with the signature of Ramazan Alkan, the news piece includes the following statements: “While fight against the terrorist organization PKK continues in full-speed, the news sources of the organization is getting shut-down one by one. After the closing of Özgür Gündem newspaper, for which the publishing was carried out from Qandil, shutting-down of Evrensel newspaper – another news source known for its affinity with PKK – is also in the agenda now.”
Some other parts of the article are as the following: “While this newspaper (Evrensel) defends the actions of PKK, it announces the operations against it to its readers as ‘war’. Targeting the struggles of the Turkish soldiers and police, Evrensel also praises the ‘ditch policy’ greatly… While also criticizing the operations against FETÖ, enforcement of decrees under state of emergency against pro-PKK civil servants has also bothered the newspaper officials. In the front page headline of its September 10 issue, they defended the 11,000 pro-PKK teachers.”
Evrensel Editor in Chief Fatih Polat: ‘We are going to keep reporting, which is a contribution to establishment of peace’
Evrensel Editor in Chief Fatih Polat has given the following response to the assertions of Yeni Akit:
“By writing a headline that reads as ‘Evrensel, the spokesperson of PKK, is getting shut-down’, Akit newspaper has actually published an ‘operational news piece’; and, done an absolutely unacceptable professional fault. Aside from the ongoing lawsuits against our newspaper, there are no other notices sent to us with regards to the shutting down of our newspaper. With its news piece, where there is no source indicated, Akit is either trying to set the stage, based on information it got from certain people from the state, for the shutting down of our newspaper or it has taken a step, by launching a publishing policy that sides with the idea of Evrensel to get shut-down. The allegation reflected in Akit’s headline, where the phrase of ‘spokesperson of PKK’ was used, can, by no means, be acceptable by us. Akit is accusing us for being the spokesperson of PKK because of our headline where we emphasized the discharge of over 11,000 teachers recently. If Akit is the newspaper of those who have discharged our teachers, then, Evrensel is the voice of those teachers and going to remain to be so! As currently detained author Aslı Erdoğan has also mentioned, our newspaper Evrensel gets its strength from knowing that it is telling the truth. While news sources such as Akit defend the war that makes the country’s people pay high prices, Evrensel has given effort for the bloodshed to stop and for the people of Turkey to reach peace as they deserve it. It has always stood up straight and it is going to continue defending the people’s right to information and contributing to establishment of peace.”
Source: https://www.birgun.net/haber-