Talat blasts military charges against journalists

TURKISH Cypriot ‘prime minister’ Mehmet Ali Talat yesterday reacted angrily to charges brought against five journalists and the Kibris Media Group general secretary by the Turkish military in the north on Tuesday, branding the action as “inappropriate for these times”.

His reaction came a day after notification of charges were read to the six accusing them of “insulting and ridiculing” the Turkish armed forces in reports on a police crackdown on a peace demonstration that took place in the village of Elia more than a year ago.
“These actions are probably inspired by those who are uncomfortable with the fact that the Turkish Cypriot people are beginning to be accepted in the world. They are putting pressure on the press to put our people in a bad light,” Talat told reporters before leaving for a meeting with the Turkish Chamber of Industry in Istanbul.

“We have to look at ways to much such things a thing of the past,” he added.

The charges against the journalists will undoubtedly cause disquiet in the ‘government’ as Talat seeks to democratise the Turkish Cypriot administration and bring it closer in line with EU norms. The incident also highlights tensions that can occur between his reformist government and conservative military leaders.

Talat said he had called the police chief and ‘attorney general’ and asked them to withdraw what he referred to as “comic charges”, but it is still unclear whether or not this will happen.

“How can people be charged over a symbolic referendum when the real referendum has already taken place. I apologise for this in the name of my government.”

Chamber of Commerce president Ali Erel joined Talat in condemnation of the charges saying: “We are against all forms of oppression and can never sanction journalists being tried in a military court and sent to jail.”

Peace and Democracy Movement (BDH) leader Mustafa Akinci also condemned the charges and accused “Denktash and people like him” of being behind the move, which he described as “an insult to the Turkish Cypriot people and their European aspirations”.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.