Headlines of Cumhuriyet considered as ‘evidence of crime’
State-run Anadolu Agency (AA) has released the ‘accusations’ on the arrested executives and columnists of Cumhuriyet newspaper. The Agency announced the news piece as ‘the details of the accusations’, despite the fact that there has been a confidentiality order issued on the investigations.
The details, in addition to the previously reported accusations in regards to ‘sponsoring and supporting FETÖ and PKK’, include ‘acting in line with the goals of FETÖ by publishing news articles that are aimed at creating an internal chaos and leading the country into an ungovernable state’; ‘giving coverage of prosecutors of the Ergenekon case in Cumhuriyet newspaper following the 17-25 December incidents and keeping contact between them and the newspaper’s then chief editor Can Dündar;’ ‘taking the news in connection to FETÖ to its headlines and doing PR work for the terrorist organization through this’; and, ‘turning comments shared on ‘Fuat Avni’ Twitter account, which is used by FETÖ on social media in a manipulative way, into news pieces’.
According to the reports of AA, while certain headlines of Cumhuriyet newspapers are considered as evidence of crime of ‘sponsoring and supporting terror’, some phrases are also deemed as an 'effort to cause polarization among members of the society.'
Headlines and certain phrases used after July 15 seen as evidence
Cumhuriyet’s reporting a few days prior to the coup attempt of July 15 about the Supreme Military Council, which was to meet a few weeks after the coup attempt, was given the caption of ‘Dismissals anticipated: agenda of the Supreme Military Council will be parallel’. This is found by the officials as evidence.
The very next day after the coup attempt, Cumhuriyet had released its front-page article with the headline of ‘Turkey in chaos.’ The headline, along with a phrase used in the article, where Erdoğan’s contact with CNN Türk is asserted as a ‘forced peace’, is considered as evidence of supporting the plotters, as well.
On July 17th, two days after the coup attempt, a news piece was released with regards to the chaos on the streets and ‘The danger on the streets’ was used as the caption. This report is considered as an effort to polarize the society by pointing fingers at the people who were demonstrating against the coup attempt.
The headline of ‘Witch-hunt has started’ (July 19) is deemed as an effort to blur the state’s fight against the coup plotters and the sub-heading of the same news piece, ‘There is nobody talking about democracy on the streets’, is considered to be targeting the citizens who had started democracy duty meetings and showed their reactions against the coup attempt on the streets.
July 25’s headline of ‘War at home, war in the world’ is considered as reflecting the counterterrorism operations of Turkish Armed Forces and police department as ‘war.’
Following the Yenikapı Meeting, Cumhuriyet released a front-page news piece with the caption of ‘A lacking democracy’. Officials also claim this as evidence on intention of executives of the newspaper to trigger polarization.
On the other hand, certain expressions are also included as the reasons for accusations on the newspaper. These are the words of ‘hate’, used in reference to anti-coup demonstrations, and, ‘dismissal’, used to refer to people who have been dismissed under FETÖ operations. Defining the people’s resistance against the soldiers as ‘chaos’ is also included a one of the ‘assertions seen as evidence of supporting terror’.
Pre-July 15 news pieces that are considered as evidence
Zaman newspaper, which has been shut down as a result of the government’s crackdown, and Cumhuriyet newspaper had used the same headline on 18 February 2016 with regards to the bombed attack in Ankara. The caption read as ‘Bomb to the heart of the State.’
Two days before that, the two newspapers also used the same headline about the developments on A’zaz.
Reports of Cumhuriyet on MİT (Turkish National Intelligence) trucks are also among the reasons for the accusations.
Source: https://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/cumhuriyet-e-operasyonun-nedeni-eksik-demokrasi-133870.html