Tweet
DAILY MILLIYET PARTS WAYS WITH PROMINENT JOURNALIST CEMAL AFTER 襤MRAL覺 LEAKS DEBATE
Hurriyet, Turkey
March 19 2013
Columnist Hasan Cemal has quit writing for daily Milliyet after the
Turkish newspaper refused to publish the veteran journalist's first
column after two weeks.
The newspaper reported the departure of the prominent columnist with
a brief note on its website that read, "Daily Milliyet has parted
ways with Hasan Cemal, a 45-year master of his profession. We thank
him for his writings in our newspaper for 15 years. His column will
be open to him whenever he wants."
Milliyet did not publish Cemal's first column marking the end of
a two-week period in which he did not pen opinion pieces for the
newspaper.
Cemal's last piece was published on March 2, voicing support for the
daily's decision to go ahead with the publication of the minutes of
a second parliamentarian visit to the jailed leader of the outlawed
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan. The piece came after
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized the newspaper, saying
the principle of press freedom does not give the media the right to
"act against the national interest of a country." Erdogan had also
slammed the columnist with the words "down with your journalism,
if this is the journalism you will conduct."
Cemal wrote that there was a difference between "running the country
and making a newspaper," and that "no one should intervene with other
people's business."
The 69-year-old journalist was then suspended from writing for the
paper for a period of two weeks, which was set to end on March 18.
When disagreement surfaced over his returning piece, Cemal refused to
write a new one for the daily unless they published the one at hand,
according to the T24 website.
Milliyet's declaration caused a stir in both journalistic ranks and
social media, as Hurriyet columnist 襤smet Berkan shared Cemal's column
on his personal blog and Radikal's Ezgi Ba癬_aran paid respects to
Cemal, whose body of work included reports and books on the Kurdish
issue, militarism and peace.
Prominent columnist Cengiz Candar described Cemal as "someone who has
led the struggle for a solution and for peace on the Kurdish issue."
Candar spoke further on the issue in a SKY Turk interview, claiming
that Milliyet bosses received two phone calls from Erdogan following
the dispute.
"Cemal is one of the symbolic names [of the solution process], and
if he is silenced for his stance on the matter, if he cannot write,
then peace will not come to this country," Candar said in his latest
piece on Cemal. "Solutions will not come."
One of the most important figures in Turkish media, Cemal worked as
the Editor-in-Chief at Cumhuriyet between 1981 and 1992 and wrote
columns at Sabah and Milliyet.
His books include "Tank Sesiyle Uyanmak" (Waking Up to the Sound of
Tanks), "Kurtler" (Kurds), "Bar覺癬_a Emanet Olun" (Peace Be With You)
and "1915: Ermeni Soyk覺r覺m覺" (1915: Armenian Genocide).
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/daily-milliyet-parts-ways-with-prominent-journalist-cemal-after-imrali-leaks-debate.aspx?pageID=238&nID=43236&NewsCatID=341
From: A. Papazian
Hurriyet, Turkey
March 19 2013
Columnist Hasan Cemal has quit writing for daily Milliyet after the
Turkish newspaper refused to publish the veteran journalist's first
column after two weeks.
The newspaper reported the departure of the prominent columnist with
a brief note on its website that read, "Daily Milliyet has parted
ways with Hasan Cemal, a 45-year master of his profession. We thank
him for his writings in our newspaper for 15 years. His column will
be open to him whenever he wants."
Milliyet did not publish Cemal's first column marking the end of
a two-week period in which he did not pen opinion pieces for the
newspaper.
Cemal's last piece was published on March 2, voicing support for the
daily's decision to go ahead with the publication of the minutes of
a second parliamentarian visit to the jailed leader of the outlawed
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan. The piece came after
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized the newspaper, saying
the principle of press freedom does not give the media the right to
"act against the national interest of a country." Erdogan had also
slammed the columnist with the words "down with your journalism,
if this is the journalism you will conduct."
Cemal wrote that there was a difference between "running the country
and making a newspaper," and that "no one should intervene with other
people's business."
The 69-year-old journalist was then suspended from writing for the
paper for a period of two weeks, which was set to end on March 18.
When disagreement surfaced over his returning piece, Cemal refused to
write a new one for the daily unless they published the one at hand,
according to the T24 website.
Milliyet's declaration caused a stir in both journalistic ranks and
social media, as Hurriyet columnist 襤smet Berkan shared Cemal's column
on his personal blog and Radikal's Ezgi Ba癬_aran paid respects to
Cemal, whose body of work included reports and books on the Kurdish
issue, militarism and peace.
Prominent columnist Cengiz Candar described Cemal as "someone who has
led the struggle for a solution and for peace on the Kurdish issue."
Candar spoke further on the issue in a SKY Turk interview, claiming
that Milliyet bosses received two phone calls from Erdogan following
the dispute.
"Cemal is one of the symbolic names [of the solution process], and
if he is silenced for his stance on the matter, if he cannot write,
then peace will not come to this country," Candar said in his latest
piece on Cemal. "Solutions will not come."
One of the most important figures in Turkish media, Cemal worked as
the Editor-in-Chief at Cumhuriyet between 1981 and 1992 and wrote
columns at Sabah and Milliyet.
His books include "Tank Sesiyle Uyanmak" (Waking Up to the Sound of
Tanks), "Kurtler" (Kurds), "Bar覺癬_a Emanet Olun" (Peace Be With You)
and "1915: Ermeni Soyk覺r覺m覺" (1915: Armenian Genocide).
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/daily-milliyet-parts-ways-with-prominent-journalist-cemal-after-imrali-leaks-debate.aspx?pageID=238&nID=43236&NewsCatID=341
From: A. Papazian