TURKEY: PSYOPS, STATE CENSORSHIP, AND THE KURDS

"Censorship reflects society's lack of confidence in itself. It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime."
~ Potter Stewart.

Even as Katil Erdoğan has been encouraging the Turkish public to avoid Doğan media because Doğan media published the news uncovered in a German court that linked Katil Erdoğan's government to international corruption, other newspapers in Turkey are being banned for publishing the Kurdish side of the long conflict in The Southeast.

It began at the beginning of August when a Turkish court seized copies of Turkish daily Birgün for its published interview with Murat Karayılan. An investigation was initiated against Birgün journalist Hakan Tahmaz, Birgün's general director İbrahim Çeşmecioğlu, and Birgün's licence holder Bülent Yılmaz for having published the interview.

Near mid-September, Taraf's Ahmet Altan--a venerable Turkish journalist--was charged with Article 301 for "denigrating Turkishness, the Republic, the institutions and organs of the State" for writing about Armenians. Charges were filed by a crackpot of the BBP. Another BBP crackpot, Kemal Kerincsiz, was indicted in the Ergenekon investigation. Previously, he was well-known for filing charges against Hrant Dink and Orhan Pamuk, also for reasons having to do with Armenians.

Then there was the case of Cengiz Kapmaz, who was convicted to ten months in prison for publishing his interview with former DEP parliamentarian Orhan Doğan.

TSK has also begun an "accreditation" process to approve those media outlets it will permit at its press conferences. This is an attempt by TSK to control the media, as described in its Information Support Activity Action Plan.

Most recently, Turkish paper Alternatif has been banned by the Ankara regime for publishing the statements of Öcalan and Karayılan.

In addition, a number of websites are officially banned by the regime: Professor Richard Dawkins' website, Youtube, kliptube, geocities, Yeni Özgür Politika, Özgür Gündem, Fırat News, and Rojaciwan.

You know they're scared shitless when their only response is censorship.