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Some Media Organizations 'Relieved' Following Turkish Military's Press Releases

A story published by the Taraf daily on Friday about an action plan allegedly put together by a military officer to defame the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the Gülen movement made it to the headlines of some papers, but following Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's comments on the situation, the story has gained new prominence.

One newspaper that initially completely ignored the story was the Habertürk daily, whose deputy editor-in-chief was very relieved to hear that the General Staff had released a press statement.

The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) stated that the alleged action plan was not prepared by any department of the General Staff and that the TSK respects the rule of law. The military, however, did not say the document is false or deny that such a plan existed.

Habertürk's Doğan Satmiş commented on the paper's Web site that the TSK should have denied the story "within the fifth minute" of it being alleged. Although the TSK's statement did not entirely deny the existence of such a plan, Satmiş said it was a great relief to find out that the document revealing the plot was "false."

"The TSK's explanation is a relieving development. I wish they made it three days ago. The TSK would not write such a document. The plot could have been written by anyone. The important thing is whether the TSK approves of the document as a whole. If so, the prime minister's words about taking action are fine. … It was perfectly acceptable for Taraf to headline with this story, but we are relieved to hear that the document is not authentic," Satmiş wrote.

Prime Minister Erdoğan said on Sunday that the government will, if necessary, take legal action against individuals involved in making the action plan. "We cannot simply remain spectators of illegal initiatives against the AK Party in a democracy."

The document, titled "Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism," was seized in the house of Serdar Öztürk, a lawyer who represents a man who was arrested during the investigation into Ergenekon, a clandestine organization charged with plotting to overthrow the government. Taraf said the four-page document was prepared in April.

Media observer Ragip Duran said the TSK's actions and ambiguous statements make reporting difficult for the Turkish media, which has already been divided into a number of camps aligned along their closeness to "power," be it military, political or economic. "The first issue is a gag order, a rare practice in developed countries. It is also troublesome that the ban was put in place by a military prosecutor upon orders from the General Staff," Duran told Today's Zaman. "This ban tries to impede the practice of real journalism."

Duran said this is a perfect environment for media which is close to the TSK to not report on the story and for media generally against the TSK to extensively cover the issue.

Indeed, until Erdoğan made his statement over the weekend, only a few media outlets, worried about the military's involvement in civilian affairs, reported extensively on the issue; others had almost no coverage. But following the prime minister's Sunday statements, Turkey's main news station, NTV, has extensively covered developments regarding the issue.

Most react to media ban

Duran added that instead of imposing a ban on the media, the TSK should have immediately investigated the alleged document and clearly stated whether it was genuine. "Is the document a fake? The TSK should know best, but it hasn't voiced its views clearly. The TSK asked the Taraf daily to send the document they published to them, which is again an unusual move," he said. "The TSK is an established and serious institution and should not act in such ambiguous ways regarding this matter. It should state in a speedy fashion whether or not the document is genuine."

The TSK had a systematic plan to damage the image of the AK Party government and the Gülen movement, in the eyes of the public; to play down the Ergenekon investigation; and to gather support for members of the military arrested as part of the inquest, according to the document published by Taraf.

On Monday, the TSK released another statement, saying it requested the document from the Taraf daily. "The document, however, has not reached our office yet. It will be made certain whether the document is genuine or fake," read the statement issued by the Military Prosecutor's Office.

Orhan Erinç, the head of the Turkish Journalists Association (TGC), said the TGC is opposed bans on the media in principle and evaluates the recent ban on the media in that regard. When it comes to the question of whether the Military Prosecutor's Office has a right to impose such a ban, it is a legal matter, he added.

Oktay Ekşi, chairman of the Press Council, said the ban on the media is unacceptable because it sets a barrier in front of the public, which wishes to learn about the truth. "It prevents revealing the truth and is not acceptable in democracies."

The head of the Contemporary Journalists Association (ÇGD), Ahmet Abakay, said the ban on the media reminds him of the times of past military coups in Turkey, particularly the Sept. 12, 1980 period.

Foreign media more cautious

When it comes to the coverage of the issue by foreign press agencies based in Turkey, there was complete silence for the first few days.

A member of the foreign media in Turkey said they usually do not write stories based on allegations and wait for developments before extensively covering an issue. This person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, also said the story was "too complex" for the international public and required a lot of sub-explanations to make it comprehensible, such as the complexities regarding military-civilian relations and the Ergenekon investigation in Turkey.

News agencies' word choice regarding the AK Party and the Gülen movement showed this complexity. The Associated Press published a brief story on Monday saying that the Turkish military stated it was committed to democracy even though an alleged military document outlined a plan to discredit the country's "Islamic-oriented ruling party" and "pro-government cleric Fethullah Gülen by planting weapons in the houses of his supporters."

The story went on to say, "In a statement Monday, the Turkish military says it is investigating the report and that the culprits will be punished if the document is proved to be genuine."

Reuters had a longer story on Monday. Its wording differed when referring to the government and the Gülen movement. "Turkey's government on Monday demanded an explanation from the armed forces over an alleged military plan to discredit the ruling Islamist-rooted AK Party as well as a powerful religious movement."

The Reuters story also referred to the "power struggle between the AK Party" and "the secularist establishment, including army generals, judges and academics," and said this frequently aroused political tension in Turkey.

Media analyst Duran said it was understandable for foreign media to approach the story cautiously because they wait for the story to mature as far as the news elements are concerned. "The Turkish media is not generally cautious about such allegations," he said. "If the Taraf daily did not criticize Prime Minister Erdoğan in the past for being so close to the TSK, maybe we would not have seen a statement from the prime minister either."

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