World-renowned philosopher and linguist Noam Chomsky has slammed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over government-orchestrated arrests of journalists, warning that Turkey is going toward a more "authoritarian and repressive society."
"Erdoğan's actions are another very serious attack on freedom of press, and another unfortunate sign of regression in Turkey towards a more authoritarian and repressive society, reversing the democratic gains of earlier years of this millennium," Chomsky told Today's Zaman.
More than a dozen journalists, including the Zaman daily editor-in-chief, Ekrem Dumanlı, and the STV network general manager, Hidayet Karaca, were detained in early morning raids across Turkey on charges of plotting against an al-Qaeda-linked group. Zaman allegedly published stories related to the group while several episodes of STV soap operas condemned the group for its call for violence and solidarity with al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
The arrest of the journalists prompted harsh reactions from around the world. The EU condemned the media crackdown as "unacceptable" while the White House and the State Department expressed concerns over the raids.
Published on Today's Zaman, 17 December 2014, Wednesday
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