Intellectuals, journalists say ‘enough is enough’ to Erdoğan regime after İpek Koza raid

Some 130 journalists and intellectuals condemned recent police raid on companies owned by Koza İpek Holding, including media outlets, and said “enough is enough” in a joined statement released on Thursday.

“In addition to many unlawful and oppressive actions it took since Gezi [Park protests in 2013], the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan regime now seized companies of İpek-Koza with police and pressurized water just with the signature of a penal court of peace judge without any trial,” the statement said, adding that “this is a state of lunacy which is driven by fear and despair” which will in the end cost alot to the citizens.

Stressing that the purpose of the government is to “unplug” all critical newspapers and TV channels in order to gloss over revelations of major corruption probes that broke out on Dec. 17 and 25, the group said if the government succeeds in increasing its electoral support in the Nov .1 elections by making people believe that the Oct. 10 Ankara bombing was the work of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), not the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), it will be the turn of other opposition media groups.

Referring to recent threats by a Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputy at critical media outlets, the statement said the Doğan Media Group as well as Cumhuriyet Taraf and Sözcü dailies are the next targets.

“A saying popular in Anatolia is the only thing to say following this hijacking of the media in the eve of the elections is ‘Increase your oppression so that you perish quickly.’ We promise to get the Erdoğan regime off Turkey on Nov. 1. Enough is enough!” the group said.

Among the 127 intellectuals and journalists who signed the statement are: Hasan Cemal, Akın Birdal, Baskın Oran, Emrullah Uslu, Betül Koca, Büşra Ersanlı, Mehveş Evin, Sait Çetinoğlu, Selçuk Gültaşlı, Ragıp Zarakolu, Şanar Yurdatapan, Erdal Doğan, Temel İskit, Alev Er, Ceyda Karan and Bülent Uluer.

Published on Today's Zaman, 29 October 2015, Thursday