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| The Grand Turk |
| Former President Gül regrets AKP MP's threats against journalists |
| 2015-09-19 |
| [Hurriyet Daily News] Former Turkish President Abdullah Gul has expressed regret over threats by a deputy of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) against journalists, while also declaring attacks against daily Hurriyet as "saddening and wrong." "I was very saddened and I couldn't countenance the involvement of a politician in something like this. It is something incredible," Gul said late Sept. 17 when asked to comment on threatening marks issued by AKP Istanbul deputy Abdurrahim Boynukalin earlier this week. In the footage, Boynukalin can be heard threatening Hurriyet journalists and expressing his regret that they "had never beat them in the past." "They had never had a beating before. Our mistake was that we never beat them in the past. If we had beaten them..." Boynukalin said in the video, mocking Hurriyet Editor-in-Chief Sedat Ergin and columnist Ahmet Hakan for their reactions as approximately 200 assailants smashed the newspaper building's front windows with stones and clubs. He also revealed in the video that he mulled waiting for Hakan in front of his house to confront him. "These are saddening," said Gul, one of the founding members of the AKP, in an interview aired on private NTV news channel, referring to rising pressure on the press in ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... and in particular the vandal attacks against Hurriyet daily. "These are all wrong. Turkey shouldn't be experiencing and speaking of these. These would harm everybody. Such an image of Turkey shouldn't be displayed. One shouldn't let this happen. The freedom of press and expression is one of the most important issues," Gul said. "The press should be decent, too. Not everything is free. But the harming of freedom of expression and press has an impact on everything." |
| Posted by:Fred |