[[GRETA]]
Hello and welcome …
to Plugged In.
I’m Greta Van Susteren ...
reporting from Washington, DC.
A bipartisan majority …
of U.S. senators ...
are urging …
the Biden administration ...
to pressure Turkey …
to end its crackdown ...
on domestic opposition ...
And its silencing …
of the media.
Since president ...
Recep Tayyip Erdogan ( Racep- Taheep- Urdoh-whan)
came to power ...
Turkey has been among …
the world’s leading …
jailer of journalists.
Plugged In presents a new …
Voice of America documentary ...
showing how, under Erdogan ...
one of the bedrock principles …
of democracy has eroded ...
freedom of the press.
Here is “Turkey: Breaking the Silence.”
(NARRATİON)) ((COLD OPEN)) ((Over beauty shots of Turkey, with the Turkish flag))
It’s a nation forged from the ruins of a
fallen empire …
A once-poor country that in the early
two thousands rose to become an
economic success story…
(NARRATİON)) ((Shot of Erdoğan speaking))
And whose leader – Recep Tayyip
Erdoğan – inspired hope.
((Erdoğan)) ((Continue Erdoğan speaking with crowd reaction))
Speech under.
((SFX))
Cheers.
((Soner Çağaptay, Author of “Erdoğan’s Empire: Turkey and the Politics of the Middle East”)) ((More crowd reaction))
“He came to power saying he respected
democracy.”
((Narration)) ((Shot of Erdoğan speaking.))
Yet during his nearly two-decade rule,
Erdoğan has repeatedly attacked one
of democracy’s bedrock principles –
freedom of the press.
((Emma Sinclair, Webb Senior Turkey Researcher at Human Rights Watch))
((Continuing footage of police harassing, arresting, escorting journalists.))
“So we started to see a crackdown on media”
((NARRATİON)) ((Continuing footage of police harassing, arresting, escorting journalists))
It’s resulted in fines, arrests, trials,
and imprisonment for journalists who
question the government.
((Yaman Akdeniz, Law Professor, Istanbul Bilgi University. Founder & Director,
Cyber Rights)) ((Continuing footage of police harassing, arresting, escorting journalists…))
“There is no space for freedom of
expression and free media.”
((NARRATİON)) ((Starting with generic shots of Turkish people …
Shots of Mehmet scrolling through phone.))
Many of Turkey’s citizens have seen
their lives changed during Erdoğan’s
years in power.
Their views reveal a highly-polarized
nation …
((NARRATİON (continued) )) ((Shot of Mehtap reading the Koran))
divided by belief …
((NARRATİON (continued) )) ((Shot of Şevket driving cab with passenger in the back seat.))
by politics …
((NARRATİON (continued) )) ((Shot of Zozan singing))
and ethnicity …
((NARRATİON)) ((Shot of a pile of newspapers))
A nation where the mainstream media
is controlled by the government…
((NARRATİON)) ((Reporter being hand-cuffed or hustled out by police))
Where dissent is suppressed …
((NARRATİON)) ((Police attacking protesters at Gezi))
And democracy is under siege.
((SFX)) ((TITLE SEQUENCE)) ((Opening graphic))
Title music.
((NARRATİON)) ((Footage of November 3rd 2002 celebration:
Swarms of ecstatic people in the streets, celebrating.))
November Third, Two Thousand Two.
Ankara, Turkey.
Outside the Justice and Development
Party headquarters, a crowd
celebrates a stunning landslide
victory in Turkey’s national election.
The party – known as the AKP – is the
first with Islamist roots to win full
control of the government in the
nation’s history.
((NARRATİON)) ((Shots of Erdoğan in the wake of the 2002 election.
Continuing with Erdoğan on the balcony throwing roses to supporters.))
It’s leader: a charismatic 48-year-old
former mayor of Istanbul – Recep
Tayyip Erdoğan.
His victory speech brims with
confidence.
((Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey))
(onscreen subtitles) ((Erdoğan speaking from the balcony.))
“You have voted for democracy to
function better. You have voted to
replace a democracy incapable of ruling
with a democracy that can rule!”
((SFX))
Roar from crowd.
((NARRATİON)) ((More footage of November 3rd celebration.))
Erdoğan had formed the AKP only a
year earlier.
But Turkey’s voters were ready for
change.
((Soner Çağaptay, Author of “Erdoğan’s Empire: Turkey and the Politics of the Middle East”)) ((Çağaptay in interview, intercut shots of Turkey from the 1990s – showing poor people, shop signs showing million figure lira for ordinary identifiaombs e items, etc))
“Erdoğan’s election victory in 2002
followed a decade of immense political
and economic instability in Turkey. The
country suffered from triple digit inflation
in the 1990s, as well as cases of
corruption that were aired out by the
country’s free press at the time. So the
electorate was sick and tired of what
looked like unending political crises,
economic crises ... and Erdoğan’s victory
promised to bring in a breath of fresh air.”
((NARRATİON)) ((Early footage of Erdoğan, at rallies.))
“Erdoğan’s AKP platform proposed a
series of democratic reforms – among
them, pledging to ease up on the
news media which had long been
subject to government censorship.
Turkey seemed poised for a new era.”
((Lisel Hintz, Assistant Professor of International Relations, Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies)) ((Continuing with Lisel Hintz in interview, intercutting shots of an increasingly modernizing Turkey and shots of television newscasts; newspaper headlines))
“There really was a lot of optimism in
terms of issues that could be talked
about … of what could be discussed on
television, in the news, on the radio,
even in the streets.”
((SFX))
Music for transition
((NARRATİON)) ((A series of establishing shots of the Kasımpaşa neighborhood.))
The AKP victory was especially
welcomed in Kasımpaşa – the
working-class neighborhood in
Istanbul where Erdoğan grew up.
It was then – and still is - an enclave
where immigrants and conservative
Turks from poor rural areas settle,
hoping to find work and build a better
life.
((NARRATİON)) ((Footage of Ismail Demircan walking down the street, heading toward the mosque.))
For many here, that life centers
around their Muslim faith.
Among them, 90-year-old hotel owner
Ismail Demircan, on his way to the
local mosque where he worships…
As he’s done five times a day for over
thirty years.
((SFX))
Ambience …
((NARRATİON)) ((Now inside the mosque, Ismail prays))
Beneath the dome of the mosque – in
the direction of Mecca – Ismail prays,
steadfast in his commitment to his
God, his country, and his president.
((SFX))
Sound up on street noises etc
((NARRATİON)) ((Intro Mehtap walking toward the hotel and then continue following her as she enters hotel.))
Kasımpaşa is also home to Ismail’s
daughter, Mehtap, who’s fifty years
old, married, with three grown
daughters of her own.
She handles the daily management of
her father’s hotel.
Nearly two decades later, she
remembers what election night 2002
meant for pious Muslims.
((Mehtap Demircan, Hotel Owner))
(onscreen subtitles) ((Mehtap in hotel.))
“That victory for Tayyip Erdoğan became
our victory, thank God!”
((Mehtap Demircan, Hotel Owner))
(onscreen subtitles) ((Interview, intercutting Mehtap in hotel…))
“Today, our country is a real democracy.
But it wasn’t in the past.”
((NARRATİON)) ((Historical footage of establishment of Turkish Republic, featuring footage of Atatürk))
The Turkish Republic was born in
1923 following the collapse of the
Ottoman Empire.
Its founder – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk –
created a European-style state that
excluded Islam – and all religion –
from government.
Secularism became Turkey’s modern
faith.
((NARRATİON)) ((Images of Muslims going to mosque. Continuing with archival shots of devout Muslims in streets – e.g., women wearing coverings - hijab, men wearing skullcap & long tunic))
Devout Muslims felt left behind.
For decades, they lived as second-
class citizens, often viewed as
backward – or even fanatical – by
their secularist countrymen.
((NARRATİON)) ((Generic shots of women wearing hijab in public – street scenes – footage of a woman in a hijab protesting being removed from a building.))
During the 1980s, women wearing the
‘hijab’ – a headscarf expressing their
faith – were banned from schools,
government buildings, and college
campuses.
18-year-old Mehtap was one of them.
((Mehtap Demircan, Hotel Owner))
(onscreen subtitles) ((Mehtap in interview. Intercutting shots of young women wearing headscarves being harassed))
“I was prevented from going to college
back then. Other women could go
wearing a mini-skirt, yet I couldn’t
because of my harmless scarf. That wasn’t fair
I wish I’d fought like an Islamic warrior
to wear the scarf and get my education.”
((NARRATİON)) ((Mehtap in hotel, with father, interacting with staff.))
Without a college degree, Mehtap had
few career options.
She went to work at her father’s hotel.
((Mehtap Demircan, Hotel Owner))
(onscreen subtitles) ((Mehtap in interview, intercutting footage of her interacting with staff…))
“We’re a conservative family. We
serve our guests according to traditional
Islamic values – very observant, allowing
no alcohol … And we’ve never had any
problems because of our policies.”
((NARRATİON)) ((Footage of Demircans in office watching Erdoğan on TV.))
To Mehtap and her father, Erdoğan is
more than a boy from Kasımpaşa who
made good.
He’s an old family friend.
((Mehtap Demircan, Hotel Owner))
(onscreen subtitles) ((Including pictures of Mehtap and Ismail with Erdoğan))
“My father has known him since brother
Tayyip was a young boy. He says, even
then, there was something special about
him. He sees Mr. Tayyip as a real
leader, saying:
“You can judge a man by the way he
stands, the way he talks, by his actions.
The man has challenged the world!”
My father really likes this and is proud of
him. He believes that Mr. Erdoğan is the
most important leader of all times after Atatürk.”
((NARRATİON)) ((More Erdoğan the politician speaking at a rally before adoring crowds))
In rising to the country’s highest
office, the unapologetically religious
Erdoğan placed Islam at the heart of
public life.
Solidifying his stature among the
faithful.
((Mehtap Demircan, Hotel Owner))
(onscreen subtitles) ((Mehtap in interview, intercutting shot of Erdoğan.))
“Truly, when Mr. Tayyip came to power,
we achieved democracy. Allah and the
earth and sky bless him! We’re really
happy, very happy with everything he
does.”
((NARRATİON)) ((Transition to period of Turkey’s economic rebirth under AKP. Images reflecting ‘a nation on the move,’))
Erdoğan’s appeal wasn’t based solely
on religion.
During his first term in power, he
gave millions of Turks – including the
poor and disadvantaged — a bigger
slice of the country’s economic pie.
((Soner Çağaptay, Author of “Erdoğan’s Empire: Turkey and the Politics of the Middle East”)) ((Soner Çağaptay in July 2020 interview))
“He lifted so many people out of poverty
that I think he has therefore created a
base of adoring worshipers who simply
love him. Turks live much better off
when compared to the pre-Erdoğan
years.”
((NARRATİON)) ((People celebrating Erdoğan win in 2007 and 2011 victory))
And they expressed their gratitude at
the ballot box.
Voters rewarded Erdoğan’s AKP with
national election victories in 2007 …
… and then again in 2011.
Western observers began to see
Turkey as a democratic model for the
Muslim world.
((NARRATION)) ((Various shots featuring Erdoğan))
But during this era of prosperity,
Erdoğan had begun chipping away at
one of democracy’s key pillars:
Freedom of the press.
((NARRATİON)) ((Graphic treatment of Musa Kart’s cartoon from Cumhuriyet))
In 2004, a caricature set him off.
Political cartoonist Musa Kart drew
Erdoğan as a cat entangled in a ball
of wool.
Erdoğan sued Kart and the
newspaper that printed the cartoon.
((NARRATİON)) ((Image of Kart being ‘graphically’ slapped with a fine))
The court ruled in Erdoğan’s favor
and fined the cartoonist for publicly
humiliating the Prime Minister.
The decision was later reversed by
Turkey’s Supreme Court.
((NARRATİON)) ((More cartoon images critical of Erdoğan.))
But it would not be the last time a
cartoonist and Erdoğan clashed.
((NARRATİON)) ((Footage of Erdoğan standing trial.))
Yet to some it seemed at odds with
the politician they thought they knew,
since Erdoğan himself had famously
been persecuted for speaking out.
In April 1998, as mayor of Istanbul, he
was found guilty of reciting a poem
deemed a threat to Turkey’s
secularist system.
((SFX))
Crowd noise under
((NARRATİON)) ((Erdoğan’s imprisonment, crowds accompanying him to the prison))
The day he began his sentence,
hundreds of supporters accompanied
him to the prison … where he spent
four months behind bars – celebrated
as a champion of free speech.
((Suzy Hansen, NYT Magazine Correspondent & Author of “Notes on a Foreign
Country”)) ((Suzy Hansen in interview, intercut with Erdoğan arriving at prison, making his way through the crowd and entering prison offices.))
“When Erdoğan went to jail, it was not
only that it solidified his base amongst
his traditional supporters. … I think that it
made a lot of people in the population
feel sympathetic to him. People who
would have not normally been
sympathetic to him – even leftists or
secularists — because it was just seen
as an injustice.”
((NARRATİON)) ((Early footage of Erdoğan with his government ministers.))
But once in control of the country,
Erdoğan’s AKP went about
suppressing dissent.
((Emma Sinclair Webb, Senior Turkey Researcher at Human Rights Watch)) ((Emma Sinclair Webb in interview.))
“The government, as it got more
entrenched in power, became
increasingly intolerant of criticism. So we
started to see a crackdown on media.”
((Suzy Hansen, NYT Magazine Correspondent & Author of “Notes on a Foreign
Country”)) ((Suzy Hansen in interview, intercutting shot of newspapers shooting off printing press))
“People from his party were calling
editors and just saying
‘Don’t do this, don’t write this,
you know. I hope this isn’t going
to be your headline tomorrow.’
There had never been this situation
where it was one political partythat
had so much power that they were
able to determine what the press was
doing the next day or what they were
writing about.”
((NARRATION)) ((Shots of Ece Temelkuran working))
Ece Temelkuran — then a columnist
for the newspaper Haber Turk — was
a casualty of this political pressure.
She was fired after criticizing a
government ban against reporting the
accidental killing, by the Turkish Air Force
of over thirtyKurdish villagers — many of
them children.
(Ece Temelkuran, Journalist / Author)) ((Ece Temelkuran in interview))
“So the entire media was silent about the
incident for over 24 hours. That, uh,
made me angry. So I wrote two columns
about the silence and why the silence
was there. And the columns were
directed at Mr. Erdoğan.
And I was the first political columnist
fired from her job in the mainstream
media because of political reasons. And,
then on, it was, it happened so fast, the
entire media was silenced.”
((NARRATION))
The media silence would later grow
deafening.
((SFX))
Music transition.
((NARRATION)) ((Transition to drone shots over rural countryside – green hillsides, farmland, a cluster of village homes and mountains in the distance))
Away from Turkey’s urban centers, in
the country’s rural areas, religious
beliefs and conservative values hold
sway.
((NARRATION)) ((Mehmet in the olive grove, walking among the trees))
Mehmet Çelik lives in the village of
Korubaşı, 260 miles southwest of
Istanbul.
The region’s known for its olive
groves and the olive oil that’s made
Turkey one of the top five producers
in the world.
Mehmet sees farming as his life’s
work.
((Mehmet Çelik, Farmer))(onscreen subtitles) ((Shots of Mehmet examining olive fruit on trees))
“I was born to be a farmer... It’s not an
easy life. You learn farming over time,
through experience. There’s no school
or short-cuts.”
((NARRATION)) ((Mehmet plowing the field))
For many in the region, farming is a
family affair.
Mehmet’s father, Mustafa, is in his
late fifties and often helps his son in
the fields.
((NARRATION)) ((Continuing Mehmet plowing))
Mehmet is 34, married, with a two-
year old daughter.
He’s been an AKP supporter since his
teens.
The party’s agricultural policies
provide loans and subsidies to help
farmers like him boost production
and increase their income.
((Mehmet, Farmer))
(onscreen subtitles) ((Continuing with Mehmet clearing brush in the olive grove.))
“Farmers need government support. It’s
İmportant. For instance, when we plow
the olive fields, we’re given diesel oil
support. When we sow, we get fertilizer
support.”
((NARRATION)) ((Mehmet working on tractor))
According to Mehmet, government
programs during the 1990s – prior to
the AKP taking power – were not
much help to farmers.
((Mehmet, Farmer))
(onscreen subtitles) ((Continuing with Mehmet working on tractor, intercutting Mehmet in interview.))
“Trying to get a government loan in the
nineties wasn’t worth the trouble. The
process was complicated with all sorts of
files and documents. You had to get
approval from too many places. It just
wasn’t worth it.”
((NARRATION)) ((Montage featuring Mehmet doing a series of jobs to ‘keep the farm running’ smoothly.))
Altogether, the Çelik family owns 98
acres of land, devoting about 24
acres to growing a variety of crops.
((Mehmet, Farmer))
(onscreen subtitles) ((Over footage of Mehmet on the farm))
“With farming, there are no vacations. No
Sundays or Fridays off. There are no sick
days or holidays. It’s the only profession
where you don’t have time off.”
((NARRATION)) ((Footage of harvester in the field.))
In late summer, Mehmet works with
his father, harvesting corn to produce
silage – or feed – for his dairy cows.
He bought his harvester with the help
of a AKP government loan program.
((Mehmet, Farmer))
(onscreen subtitles) ((Intercut Mehmet harvesting action with interview.))
“I used to rent a friend’s harvester, but
then got a loan to buy my own. The
bank arranged it so I could pay back
the loan over five years, with my
payments less than I paid to rent one.
After that, the harvester is mine.”
((NARRATION)) ((Mehmet looking at his phone, scrolling through articles))
Though he’s far from the center of
power, Mehmet keeps a close watch
on Turkish politics.
((Mehmet, Farmer))
(onscreen subtitles) ((Mehmet in interview, Scrolling through articles on his phone))
“Usually, I follow the opposition media,
because I learn how they think, by
looking at things through their eyes.
However, their views should be civilized,
not mocking or disparaging.”
((NARRATION)) ((Mehmet reading articles on phone.))
He says freedom of the press is fine
in principle, but insists there are
limits to what journalists can write or
say.
((Mehmet, Farmer))
(onscreen subtitles) ((Continuing with Mehmet reading articles on phone, intercutting Mehmet in interview.))
“You shouldn’t talk about press freedom
and then insult the country’s leader.
Just as a terrorist or criminal can threaten
a country’s national security, so
can people who insult our leaders in
order to influence people’s opnions.”
((SFX))
Evening prayer to end the scene.
((Mehmet, Farmer))
(onscreen subtitles) ((TRANSITION: A shot of the town with the minaret silhouetted against the darkening sky with the sound of an evening prayer under.))
“In Turkey, press freedom does not mean
saying whatever you like.”
((NARRATION)) ((Shots of newspaper articles criticizing AKP government.))
Since its first term in power, the AKP
government has aimed to stifle
reporting it sees as negative or
critical.
But it doesn’t just target individual
journalists.
((NARRATION)) ((Footage of Hurriyet headquarters with supered headlines of newspaper reports of the scandal.))
When the opposition newspaper,
Hurriyet, reported on a AKP
corruption scandal …
… the government retaliated – fining
the paper’s owners, Dogan Media,
two-and-a-half billion dollars for
supposed tax evasion.
((NARRATION)) ((Graphic))
Nearly bankrupted, the company had
to sell two papers to an Erdoğan ally.
((Nate Schankkan, Director for Special Research at Freedom House))
((Schankkan in interview))
“So the tax investigations against Dogan
group really sent a signal that you
shouldn’t cross us really and that there
would be new red lines that they would
enforce.”
((NARRATION)) ((Erdoğan surrounded by a crowd of reporters at AK Party headquarters))
Erdoğan had punished one disloyal
media outlet.
But that was just the beginning.
Later, he would prove his domination
of the entire mainstream press.
((SFX)) ((‘City-scape’ transition: evening beauty shots of Istanbul – Şevket Şahintaş driving in his taxi as night falls))
Music accompanying transition
((NARRATION)) ((Continuing Şevket Şahintaş driving at night …))
Şevket Şahintaş has been driving a
cab in the streets of Istanbul for more
than thirty years … often working the
night shift.
But no matter the hour, he finds his
passengers are eager to talk politics:
((Şevket Şahintaş, Taxi Driver / Photographer))
(onscreen subtitles) ((Nighttime scene featuring Sevket picking up customer who gets in the back seat of the cab.))
“Generally, they’ll ask, “Which
party do you support?” and, “What’s
your view of the economy?’’
If the rider is an AKP supporter,
they tell me how great the country is
doing. If they’re an opposition party
supporter, they tell me that in the old
days everything was better and that
nowadays the country isn’t being run
properly.”
((NARRATION)) ((Şevket still with passenger in back seat of the cab))
Şevket has long had doubts about
Erdoğan and the AKP.
((Şevket Şahintaş, Taxi Driver / Photographer))
(onscreen subtitles) ((More of Şevket driving with passenger in back seat of the cab.))
“I never supported Erdoğan. In 2002,
when the AKP came to power, I was
disappointed because I never
believed that a religiously based political
party in charge of the government
would benefit this country.
I still don’t believe it.”
((NARRATION)) ((Featuring protesters marching holding Turkish flag, chanting, followed by footage of police using water cannons to subdue them.))
His skepticism peaked in May 2013.
That’s when a government plan to
build a shopping mall in Istanbul’s
popular Gezi Park drew a small group
of protesters … that grew … and
grew.
((Ece Temelkuran, Journalist / Author)) ((Intercut Ece Temelkuran and footage of various groups of protesters.))
“They were, you know, people from
opposite factions of politics…. The most
colorful carnivalesque protest you could
ever seen // And they wanted to tell the
political power that they are not going
to be enemies to each other….
saying that we want to keep our
solidarity. We don’t want to give in to the
polarization that is forced upon us by this
political power.”
((NARRATION)) ((Şevket with camera in Gezi Park….intercut with Gezi protest))
“An amateur photographer, Şevket
was drawn to what was unfolding at
Gezi Park.
He took a week off work to document
it.”
((Şevket Şahintaş, Taxi Driver / Photographer))
(onscreen subtitles) ((Şevket with camera in Gezi Park, intercutting with footage and Sevket’s photographs from Gezi Park uprising))
“These were people who felt that their
voices weren’t being heard. They were
speaking to the country’s leader who
they believed was ignoring them, saying,
“We also exist!”
((NARRATION)) ((Footage from early stages of Gezi protests.))
A tense calm prevailed for two days
at the Park.
And then came the government’s
response…
((SFX))
Sounds of violence
((Lisel Hintz, Assistant Professor of International Relations, Johns Hopkins))
((Continuing with chaos in the streets with police shooting tear gas bombs, smoke rising everywhere and cutting to Hintz in interview, continuing with shots of police running in the streets wielding guns, wide shot of smoke arising from the scene…
Burning tent; protester being harassed by police; evening shot of sparks erupting on street; continuing with footage of protesters marching, etc.))
“… the police crack down viciously on the
peaceful protestors.
So they torch their tents. They beat
them. Images are taken on camera
phones. They’re spread through the
internet very quickly and within a few
days, you have uprisings in 80 out of 81
provinces in Turkey.
What Erdoğan sees this as, rightly so, is
the first real challenge against his power.”
((NARRATION)) ((Various shots of chaos, crowds of protesters marching and chanting in the streets, police running to quell protesters..))
Fearing government reprisals, many
television news outlets continued
with their regular daily programming,
instead of covering the protests live.
((Nate Schankkan, Director for Special Research at Freedom House)) ((Gezi protest footage, continuing with Schankkan interview.))
“It was a striking experience to, in
some cases, be able to look out your
window and see people protesting,
maybe in some cases to see police firing
tear gas canisters down the street. And
your biggest news channel was showing
a nature documentary.”
((Şevket Şahintaş, Taxi Driver / Photographer))
(onscreen subtitles) ((Şevket interview with Gezi footage.))
“Naturally it was the Government’s wish
that the Gezi Park events would not be
shown. And the fact that the press did
not broadcast those events was proof
that they did whatever the government
wanted.
… I think it was after Gezi Park that we
started to ignore the mainstream media.”
((NARRATION)) ((Footage continuing with a selection of Şevket’s stills.))
During the unrest, protesters turned
to social media to share news.
Şevket kept his camera focused on
the turmoil.
((Şevket Şahintaş, Taxi Driver / Photographer))
(onscreen subtitles) ((Şevket Şahintaş in interview intercutting with a selection of Şevket’s stills.))
“At the beginning, I didn’t think Gezi
Park would be so important.
But it turned into very significant.”
((NARRATION)) ((More photographs of Gezi protests.))
The Gezi Park protests marked the
birth of a grassroots, anti-AKP
movement defending the right to free
expression.
((Şevket Şahintaş, Taxi Driver / Photographer))
(onscreen subtitles) ((Şevket in interview with reprise of action of the protests))
“Gezi Park was really important to me.
To see that there were many
other people who thought like me and
looked at life like I do - that was
encouraging. I thought from that
time on, we would be listened to more
and things would never be the same
again. But it didn’t go the way I
hoped.”
((Lisel Hintz, Assistant Professor of International Relations, Johns Hopkins
University, School of Advanced International Studies)) ((Hintz with Gezi Park footage))
“Since the Gezi Park protest, there has
been a very sharp polarization of society
under the AKP. There’s a sense that
you’re either with the AKP or you’re not.”
((NARRATION)) ((TRANSITION IMAGES))
That polarization has heightened
social and political tensions in the
country.
((SFX))
Bomb blasts, guns, staccato firing,
Etc
((COURTESY OF PHYSICIANS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS)) ((COURTESY OF PHYSICIANS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS))
((NARRATION)) ((Archival footage of clashes between Turkish and PKK troops.))
Since the mid-nineteen eighties, the Turkish army has fought the militant Kurdish group PKK, which seeks to establish an independent state in a region that includes southeast Turkey.
The conflict has killed over forty thousand civilians and wounded untold numbers more.
((NARRATION)) ((More Archival footage of clashes between Turkish and PKK troops.))
One opposition newspaper – Ozgur
Gündem – had for years reported on
Kurdish issues.
And because of it, was a target of the
Erdoğan government.
((Zozan Bütün, Singer))
(onscreen subtitles) ((Ozgur Gündem footage intercutting Zozan Bütün in interview.))
“It was called terrorist propaganda, the
‘disrupter’ newspaper,
‘betrayer’newspaper. It was called these
sorts of names.
But, the truth is, it said what had
to be said.”
((NARRATION)) ((Footage of Zozan at Bookstore.))
Zozan Bütün is a 26-year old Kurd
who grew up reading Özgür Gündem
in southeastern Turkey.
She now works in an Istanbul
bookstore.
((Zozan Bütün, Singer))
(onscreen subtitles) ((More Zozan in interview intercut with footage of Zozan working in the bookstore.))
“Kurds don’t have a voice in Turkey.
We have opinions, we have concerns,
we have complaints, we have lives. But
these weren’t reported in other media
outlets.
So, naturally, Özgür Gündem became
our voice. It has a prominent place in
Kurdish history.”
((NARRATION)) ((Footage of launch of Ozgur Gündem Freedom of Expression campaign, featuring a meeting with volunteer editors.))
Starting on May 3rd 2016 –
International Press Freedom Day –
Özgür Gündem launched a freedom
of expression campaign.
Its purpose: to protest the relentless
government pressure and defend
freedom of the press.
((DOKUZ8 HABER LOGO NEEDED)) ((NO LOGO NEEDED)) ((NO LOGO NEEDED))
((NARRATION)) ((More footage featuring a meeting with volunteer editors.))
More than fifty journalists and
activists volunteered to serve as
‘guest editors for a day’ in support of
the newspaper.
((NARRATION)) ((Footage of trucks arriving and officers entering building and removing computers))
But soon the Erdoğan government
cracked down –
investigating and arresting
volunteers…
jailing some … and accusing them of
spreading terrorist propaganda.
((NARRATION)) ((Protest))
Protesters denounced the censorship…
((SFX))
Protesters chanting.
((AP LOGO NEEDED))
((NARRATION)) ((Shots of Ozgur Gündem protests))
Trials were set for the fall of 2016.
((AP LOGO NEEDED))
((NARRATION)) ((Quick transition to jet plane flying over Parliament building.))
But then came July 15th …
((David Muir, ABC News)) ((David Muir on ABC))
“Tonight we are monitoring that military
coup underway in Turkey.”
((SFX))
Roar of jet plane and BANG!
((NARRATION)) ((Footage of attempted coup in Ankara and Istanbul – soldiers in riot gear, tanks rolling down the street.))
A faction in the military decided
Erdoğan had to go.
The control of Turkey seemed up for
grabs.
((Mehtap Demircan, Hotel Owner))
(onscreen subtitles) ((Mehtap Demircan in interview))
“We were were returning at night
from a holiday with the children, when
the roar of a jet overhead made me
think ‘’Oh my god it’s probably the end of
the world!””
((SFX))
Erdoğan speaking via Facetime.
((NARRATION)) ((Footage of CNN-Turk studio anchor holding an iPhone to camera with Erdoğan on the screen CNN-Turk studio reporter.))
“With his hold on power threatened,
Erdoğan turned to social media,
urging his supporters to take to the
streets against the enemy.
They did – with a fury.”
((NARRATION)) ((More footage of aircraft, Istanbul mosques lit up at night ))
Amid the roar of F-16s overhead --
and bombs exploding — came
haunting sounds issuing from the
mosques.
((SFX))
Sound of sela…
((NARRATION))
A prayer known as a sela …
((Ece Temelkuran, Journalist / Author)) ((Temelkuran intercut with footage of mosque as sela echoes through the night))
“It’s a certain prayer that we do after
death, like, you know, death of
someone. That night, calling people to
resist a coup through prayers was
something completely unprecedented.
And it was the clear sign that this
country will be more Islamized from this
day on.”
((NARRATION)) ((TV news shots of aftermath of coup… streets in disarray, soldiers surrendering on Bosphorus Bridge… officer being taken into custody by government soldiers/police))
Within twelve hours, the coup attempt
was broken.
More than 250 people died.
Thousands were injured.
((NARRATION)) ((Kadri Gursel in Medyascope studio reporting))
Turkey’s media landscape grows
increasingly dark.
Some journalists have fled to the
internet and social media – the last
open spaces for public debate and
free speech.
But the digital realm may not be a
haven for long.
((NARRATION)) ((Graphic of law onscreen with
shot of users on computer))
The Erdoğan government has
tightened internet censorship –
passing a new law that controls
social media with fines and the
removal of content it considers
offensive.
It also requires social media
companies to maintain offices – and
store user data — inside Turkey,
which raises privacy concerns.
The scope of the law is
unprecedented.
((Yaman Akdeniz, Law Professor, Istanbul Bilgi University. Founder & Director,
Cyber Rights)) ((Yaman Akdeniz in interview))
“Everyone knows about the struggle for
freedom of expression and free media in
Turkey. But the magnitude of the problems
we have here is not known by many.
Over two hundred forty three thousand
websites are currently blocked.
And over hundred fifty
thousand news articles or URL
addresses are currently blocked.
Over twelve thousand blocking
decisions are issued every year. And
over fifteen hundred Twitter accounts
are blocked from Turkey. This is the
country we live in…”
((NARRATION)) ((Footage of Erdoğan giving a speech to people))
What’s to become of a country whose
government prosecutes those who
speak out … those who ask
questions, and refuse to remain
silent?
((NARRATION)) ((Shots of Turkish flags next to Attaturk statue and journalists being arrested, Erdoğan giving a speech))
Press freedom is enshrined in
Turkey’s Constitution, though there
have always been limits.
In the nation’s history, civil and
military leaders have exploited those
limits – punishing journalists for
allegedly endangering national
security, or for supporting terrorism.
The Erdoğan government has taken it
to the extreme, seeking to curtail free
speech and outlaw opposing views.
((NARRATION)) ((Shots of protests. Close with a shot of a poster reading in English: ‘Journalism is Not a Crime.’))
Now the question is not only whether
freedom of the press will survive in
Turkey ...
But whether the country’s democracy
itself will survive.
((SFX)) ((BRIEF DIP TO BLACK))
Music continues
((ONSCREEN TEXT)) ((TEXT ON BLACK))
In August 2020, Fatih Portakal left Fox
Haber Television on his own accord.
He continues to offer political commentary
on his YouTube channel.
((ONSCREEN TEXT)) ((TEXT ON BLACK))
After more than three years – and
following Turkey’s Supreme Court
upholding their appeal of their
convictions – the outcome of the
Cumhuriyet employees trial has not
yet been decided.
[[GRETA]]
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we have for now.
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the entire documentary …
find it on our home page …
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