Turkey and thew Syrian National Army (SNA) continue its attacks on North and East Syria, Journalists Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin, who were following the developments to publicize these attacks, were killed by a Turkish UCAV on December 19 on the road between Tishreen Dam and Sirîn town.

 

Journalists Hayko Bağdat and İrfan Aktan commented on Turkey's crackdown and attacks on the Free Press and the murder of Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin. 

 

BAĞDAT: THEY WERE CORRECTING SPECULATIVE NEWS  

 

Reminding that the murder of Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin is a continuation of the massacres in the history of the Kurdish press, journalist Hayko Bağdat said, "Many people have been murdered since the days when Özgür Ülke Newspaper was bombed. I am a journalist who follows the news of these colleagues, know them parsonally and writes with reference to their news. I think they were especially targeted. They were reporting news in which they corrected some speculative news about the gangs affiliated with the Turkish army in the region. This is a great attack and a terrible atrocity against the Free Press. Our friends have taken their place in the history of press martyrs.”

 

'I AM PROUD OF MY COLLEAGUES IN ROJAVA'

 

Bağdat stated that anyone who is interested in the Kurdish issue and who salutes the Kurds in Turkey is targeted and said, “I have experienced this in my own life. If the Kurdish media had not reported from the region, which violence of the state and law enforcement would have been overlooked? Today, Ahmet Hakan and similar 'pit' names have stooped so low as to applaud the murder of our colleagues. The anniversary of Hrant Dink's murder on January 19 is also approaching. It will be 18 years later, but his killer is still at large. Unfortunately, in Turkey, those who kill journalists and harm Kurds, Alevis and Armenians are heroized. Therefore, the murder of Hrant Dink and Nazım is the same as what we are experiencing today. This is the culture of violence of oppressors who do not want the truth to come out. I am proud of my colleagues working in Rojava. Even the cameras of Kurdish media journalists were considered evidence of 'terrorism'. The names they interviewed were criminalized. But despite all this and despite being under great pressure, our friends in the media continue their work.” 

 

AKTAN: JITEM IN THE 90S, TODAY SİHA

 

Journalist İrfan Aktan reminded that Turkey has not made any statement on the murder of Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin, and emphasized that Kurdish journalists murdered in the 90s were done by Gendarmerie Intelligence and Anti-terror Unit (JİTEM) and today by UCAVs. Stating that Turkey's aim in targeting journalists is to prevent the other side of the truth from being reflected to the public, Aktan said, “Turkey's operations against Rojava are not only military but also rewriting and turning the truth inside out. Journalists like Nazim and Cihan, who are on the ground, also meet directly with Kurdish actors. They can talk to the people there and hand microphones to the people there. Immediately after the HTS advance on Damascus, dozens of journalists from the Turkish media traveled to Syria. They all went to Idlib, then to Hama and then to Damascus. But not a single journalist from Turkey went to Rojava. The Turkish media did not even report how the Kurds were affected by the overthrow of Assad in Syria, let alone the mobilization of the YPG and SDF. Journalists can also take sides. Journalists do not necessarily have to be impartial in any conflict. But this does not justify targeting journalists. We must reject the violence against Nazim, Cihan and Kurdish journalists. This must be condemned internationally by all journalists.” 

 

7 JOURNALISTS ARRESTED 

 

Commenting on the arrest of 7 journalists who wanted to protest the murder of Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin in Istanbul, Aktan said, "The government says, 'I can do this, and at the same time I will punish your professional solidarity in the harshest way. The government is trying to prevent the solidarity of journalists with each other, and to prevent lawyers through bar associations from rejecting such rights violations on the basis of law. It is not acting out of a sense of guilt here.  On the contrary, it is saying 'I did that, I will do this too'."

 

'KURDISH PRESS IS PEACE JOURNALISM'

 

İrfan Aktan stressed that Kurdish journalism is peace journalism in Turkey. Regarding the meeting of the DEM delegation with PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan in İmralı Aktan said, "Kurdish media has a tradition that can adapt very quickly to peace journalism in solution processes.  The language of the Kurdish media is used to the word peace. But journalists close to the government cannot adapt to this process. The mainstream media is not accustomed to the word peace, peace journalism, rights advocacy, and making the voices of the oppressed heard. If this process is really going to evolve into a solution process, they will have to be instructed by the government to call it peace. We are talking about a media so dependent on the government. Therefore, the Kurdish media is ready for peace from yesterday."

 

'YOU CANNOT PREVENT JOURNALISM'

 

Aktan drew attention to a call to those practising journalism under the wing of the government and continued: "Regardless of the political conditions, journalists have a compass that should not be deviated from. We report the truth regardless of wars, conflicts and whether one side is victorious or not. Sometimes the pressure is so intense that there are times when we cannot report the truth. But at least we do not disinform. At least we do not betray the truth. Journalists who pursue the truth in Turkey and the Middle East, especially Kurdish journalists, will convey the trutj one way or another. If we shut up, citizen journalism will take over. Because now every phone has a camera. You can kill journalists, you can arrest journlaists but you cannot prevent journalism."

 

MA / Melik Çelik