A decent man: Akın İpek

Nazlı Ilıcak

Akın İpek is my boss. It would be unbecoming of an employee to praise his/her boss. But this is a different day. For a long time now, I have been tempted to say “Akın İpek, you are a decent and upright man” because of his standing up to pressures, but I hesitated for fear of being misunderstood. But this is the day when all his companies were seized unlawfully.

A day that is destined to go down in the history of the press as a dark episode. A day when Tayyip Erdoğan’s henchmen are appointed as trustees to Akın İpek’s companies, including those in the media group. Neither the Constitution nor the laws are respected.

A kind of lawlessness that is unprecedented even for military coup eras. Usurpation of assets of private companies, seizure of critical media outlets… They want a submissive and silent Turkey. But Akın İpek refuses to remain silent. He has stood up to pressures and continues to do so. He says, “I would rather lose my wealth than join the pro-government media where lies, slanders and corruption abound.”

Friends, these days will also pass by. If you act justly and fairly, these days will be a badge of courage for you. Those doing injustice, hurling slanders, attacking here and there with mob mentality, burying their heads like ostrich, remaining silent in the face of these grave developments will be called to account by future generations. Some of them will be thrown into the garbage of media and some will be harshly criticized for prioritizing their interests and playing three monkeys.

Akın İpek and his beloved mother Melek İpek. Actually, the events that descend upon us today like a nightmare have increased your prestige. They showed that Akın İpek is not a boss to be bought. This defiant stance has made the arrows targeting you to turn like a boomerang and hit the faces of those well-known figures that are strained with the fear of being called to account. They fell into disorder. We will all see soon that apart from destroying their prospects for the hereafter, they have also ruined their worldly lives.

Don’t remain silent

We will have elections on Nov. 1. This is not an ordinary election. We see an elected government trying to remain in power through fascistic methods. Ethics is destroyed and the law is trampled upon. Even a single vote can change this very order. So, do not entertain thoughts like “What can my vote do?” Fulfill your civic duty.

Can there be electoral fraud? Yes. Protect the ballot box and protect your vote.

It is another matter of debate why we did not switch to winter time in Turkey. Can there be a relationship between time-change and vote-rigging software? Claims about a vote-rigging software were raised by [Twitter phenomenon] Fuat Avni. I do not know whether it is true or not. But we need to be cautious. With its extensive network of correspondents, the Cihan News Agency has enough capability to monitor the election results. Can they appoint a trustee also to Cihan News Agency before the elections? I am wary of this possibility. For, manipulation of election results will become easier in this case.

Those raising sincere objections while Turkey is passing through a dark period will be the beams of light illuminating the future of the country. We need this light. Do not let the darkness become denser by remaining silent. I tell this also to our colleagues working for other media outlets. Free yourself from the outdated mentality “The snake that doesn't touch me can live a thousand years for all I care.” Let’s repeat that famous slogan: DON’T REMAIN SILENT… OR YOU WILL BE NEXT!

Published on BGNNews, 28 October 2015, Wednesday