Time to counter global lies

Ekrem Dumanlı

At one time in this country, the media would write lies, distort stories and mislead the public and no one would be able to say anything against them. Coups were staged, memorandums were released, groups of people were discredited and individuals were defamed with those lies. For several decades, the public was misguided because there wasn't an alternative news source.

It's impossible for lies to go on forever. And they didn't. Fortunately, Turkey was able to end the practice of false journalism. A casually released piece of information no longer becomes the subject of serious analysis 10 minutes later. When lies are told, they become exposed instantly. It is for this reason that fictional stories about reactionaryism are no longer written. Those who fabricate stories know very well that other media organizations will quickly access the people, places and witnesses mentioned in the false story and expose the true side of the story.

With the lie machine broken and incorrect information being defeated by correct information, some people have changed their strategies. Now false information and distorted analyses are being made abroad. Some people are knocking on the doors of think tanks and reporting developments in Turkey incorrectly, some people are providing analyses to prominent newspapers and magazines based on groundless information, and some are disclosing information about Turkey to foreign diplomats even though they know it is untrue.

Certain people (and even some institutions and organizations) who are speaking with certain lobbies and trying to take control of Turkey with the help of outsiders are relentlessly trying to undermine two social realities. Firstly, they want to spread animosity toward the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) among the global public, and secondly they want to infect foreigners with paranoia about the Gülen movement. The sad part is that neither of these two structures is fully aware of the terrible game they are up against. They approach the issue with the courage brought on by being honest and continue on their democratic and peaceful ways believing that "a lie never lives to be old." In a sense, they are right. The public conscience always sees the truth sooner or later. But what if the mud that is thrown leaves a stain?

There's always a possibility that journalist or academicians can misinterpret events. But an honorable intellectual should never submit to false information. The dreadful situation before us stems from misinformation rather than misinterpretation. The most upsetting part is that some people are creating false information on purpose and are trying to distort historical facts. Unfortunately, some of the efforts out there have nothing to do with journalism or academic studies -- instead they are the works of agents of influence.

For example those who could not undermine the Ergenekon case in Turkey are trying to achieve this objective abroad. While this may engender an opportunity that foreign forces have been waiting for, what's important is the truth. Several coups have been staged in this country, several memorandums have been released, and several interventions have been made into democracy. There have been torture cases, assassinations and mysterious murders. The deep structure that killed people and sparked clashes between Kurds and Turks, Alevis and Sunni, rightist and leftist, secularist and anti-secularist for their own purposes became exposed in the Ergenekon case. There are weapons, bombs, assassination plots and plans, murders, and projects to destroy individuals and groups of people.

Some people try to portray Ergenekon as an innocent association despite all the evidence and concrete information, and some even say the cases filed against journalists for writing about the Ergenekon are efforts to pressure the secular segment of society by the party in power. After all, how is a European or American supposed to know that some members of the judiciary who see themselves as a part of the deep structure are punishing people who write about the Ergenekon reality and that the democratically elected government of this country can't even stop it. Those who tell foreigners that around 5,000 to 6,000 cases have been launched against journalist in Turkey are doing so thinking they are hurting the AK Party. But neither the hostility toward the AK Party nor community paranoia can be used to explain these cases.

For example, they don't mention the link between the Ahmet Şık and Nedim Şener incident and the dark room known as OdaTV.com. They don't talk about how plans were made at the office of OdaTV.com on how to defame people and how to intervene in politics nor do they explain the duties that were assigned to Şık and Şener in these plans. They have become obsessed with the "community." They are making people targets even though there is no evidence against them. Why is a group of people, who ignore concrete information and documents, blaming people without any information or evidence?

For many years, the perceptive media in this country has fought against false news stories and has cracked down on lies and slander. Fortunately, a new absurdity does not emerge every day like it used to. Now there is another test waiting for us: hunting down lies and distortions regardless of what part of the world it happens and regardless of whether it is being carried out behind a reputable brand or under the wings of a certain lobby. It's unimaginable for people who believe in Turkey's role in global balances and the honor of the profession of journalism to surrender to global lies. Just as we got rid of the roots of false news in Turkey we must eradicate it from the rest of the world as well. This is the only way to uphold the virtue of "searching for truth" which is the spirit of journalism.

If prime suspect's son-in-law is "objective" then

A conference was organized at Harvard University last week. According to the program, Orhan Kemal Cengiz was speaker. Dani Rodrik, the son-in-law of retired Gen. Çetin Doğan, a suspect in the Sledgehammer case, tried to dissuade people from listening to the writer speak at the conferences. This was not the first time he did something like this. Why? Apparently, Cengiz, who has worked as a lawyer on behalf of non-Muslim citizens who were killed in the Zirve massacre, who is known for his work on human rights and who writes for Today's Zaman, was "biased." Etyen Mahçupyan, who was earlier invited to a similar conference was also declared biased by Rodrik.

Mr. Rodrik does this all the time. He tries to prove that the Sledgehammer case is rubbish by writing for reputable newspapers and magazine. He targets the "AKP" (the acronym AKP is generally preferred by opponents of AK Party) and the community; he criticizes liberals and downgrades democrats.

So who is Rodrik? He is the son-in-law of the primary suspect in the Sledgehammer coup case. In other words, the son-in-law of a suspect can be objective, but Cengiz and Mahçupyan can't? Perhaps Rodrik's efforts to support his father-in-law are admirable, but isn't it disgraceful for him to pretend he's unbiased when he's writing articles left and write and trying to prevent people from attending a conference?

A shame and an injustice

Today's Zaman parted ways with Andrew Finkel. Things like this happen in journalism. The writer either loses faith in his newspaper or the newspaper feels the writer has become detached from its publication principles. Both reasons are valid in Finkel's departure. At this point, it doesn't matter who is right. The relationship cannot be forced. The sides talk and then part ways.

Finkel was a writer I valued and followed as well. His departure saddened me, but it did not surprise me. I could see from his latest articles published in Today's Zaman that he had lost faith in the newspaper. In such cases I think an honest journalist should shake hands with the editor-in-chief after parting ways. An "I don't believe in you any more, but I am going to continue writing for you anyway" type of attitude does not befit an honorable journalist.

For some reason Finkel's departure made some journalist working for Doğan Group very happy. They wrote articles about and conducted interviews with him. We didn't say, "If you're so interested in him, give him a column." We knew they wouldn't. After all they probably didn't forget what he said about Aydın Doğan. Anyways. In his interview with Doğan Group, Finkel blamed the Zaman daily. He also said the Taraf daily was Zaman's vanguard. That was shameful, very shameful. It was an injustice to Zaman and to Taraf. Apparently, I didn't know Finkel very well.

A few days ago I learned that Finkel has started writing for the Taraf daily. Congratulations. I'm happy for him. His decision to start writing for the vanguard must be a new phase of his honorable struggle in his career. It would have been better if he had explained why Zaman and he parted ways to foreign media without distorting the facts. But let's say he said what he believed; then he should also come out and say, "Now I am working for Zaman's vanguard." Isn't this an injustice to Zaman, Taraf and journalism in general?

Published on Today's Zaman, 08 May 2011, Sunday