THE occupation regime in the north has added two more Turkish Cypriot journalists to its purge list, making it five pro-solution journalists accused of “libelling the Turkish military and state” just six weeks before the general elections there.
Ortam’s editor-in-chief, Mehmet Davulcu, and the paper’s columnist, Hasan Kahvecioglu, were added to the list of journalists standing trial for insulting the Turkish army in articles published last March in the occupied north. Davulcu is also on trial for publishing a reader’s letter two and a half years ago which the reader claims he did not send to the paper.
Kahvecioglu told the Cyprus Mail this was just a sign of things to come in the run-up to the December elections, but noted this hard-line stance would only help strengthen the popularity of pro-solution and EU forces.
However, he pointed out that the ‘police’ force in the north comes under the authority of the Turkish military instead of the government.
Earlier in the week, editor-in-chief of the biggest selling newspaper in the north, Kibris, and president of the Cyprus Turkish Journalists’ Union, Suleyman Erguclu, was charged for publishing two articles which were deemed to insult and degrade the Security Forces Command and the state as well as disrupt the peace and relations between Turkey and the north. According to yesterday’s Kibris, Erguclu faces up to 21 years in jail.
Initial charges had been brought on Monday against the paper’s deputy editor Basaran Duzgun and columnist Hasan Hasturer. Duzgun faces trial in a military court and up to 10 years’ imprisonment, while Hasturer faces a civilian trial on three separate charges and the prospect of 11 years in jail. In effect, two chief editors and three journalists are being prosecuted for articles written and published eight months ago.
The opinion columns criticised incidents in the occupied village of Elia on March 25, when members of the opposition ‘This Nation is Ours Platform’ tried to stage a symbolic referendum on the Annan plan for Cyprus.
‘Police’ intervened to stop the rally, taking into custody the union leaders who had organised the mock referendum.
“With the elections coming, there is a great deal of pressure on pro-solution journalists and this period shows that this type of pressure is going to increase,” said Kahvecioglu.
“We can see clearly what is happening and we are waiting for more to come. And what’s worse,” says Kahvecioglu, “is that we are all going to be tried in military courts”.
The Ortam columnist explained that the military had control of the police, unlike in the Cyprus Republic where they come under the powers of the Justice Ministry.
“Therefore, this action is the position of the army and Turkey,” he argued.
“Unofficially, the government is saying they have nothing to do with it because the police are under the control of the military leadership here.”
According to Kahvecioglu, left-wing parties have argued for some time to put the police force under the authority of the ‘Interior Ministry’ in the north (there is no justice ministry under the occupation regime).
“This is one of the main issues in our internal politics,” he said, adding, “The head of the military court was not even a judge but a military man appointed by the military.”
Another newspaper, Afrika, no stranger to courtroom action in the north, is currently involved in a case in the ‘constitutional court’ on the military’s right to prosecute civilians. No decision has been come of it yet, says Kahvecioglu.
Asked if the media would face further attacks by the ruling regime, the reporter answered pragmatically: “They searched for eight months to find something. They appear to be working very hard, so yes we expect more journalists to be charged.”
However, Kahvecioglu was less pessimistic about the effects of the media purge. “They think pressure on the community is working, but we think it will have a positive effect. People will be more convinced to vote for pro-solution parties… They are making a silly mistake.”
