'Courage is the Legacy of Özgür Ülke Newspaper'

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Two offices and a building of the daily Özgür Ülke were bombed on December 3, 1994. On the 25th anniversary of the bombing, journalists made a statement for the press in front of the attacked building in Kardırga, İstanbul. Ersin Yıldız, the only person who lost his life in the attacks, was commemorated.

Journalists showed a banner that read, "Free press cannot be silenced," and photographs of journalists and writers who lost their lives in various attacks.

Journalist Hüseyin Aykol, Human Rights Association (İHD) Co-Chair Eren Keskin, Peoples' Democratic Congress (HDK) Co-Chair Gülistan Kılıç-Koçyiğit, IPS Communication Foundation/bianet Project Advisor Nadire Mater, human rights defenders Leman Yurtsever and Mehmet Acettin, employees of the Yeni Yaşam newspaper, Mesopotamia Women Journalists' Society Spokesperson Ayşe Güney and Free Journalists Initiative (ÖGİ) Spokesperson Hakkı Boltan and Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) İstanbul provincial executives were among those who attended the event.

'Our difficult journey has always continued'

Hüseyin Aykol was the first to speak at the event:

"I heard in the morning that the building was bombed. I came to this building. There was our friends' magazine, I went there. Gültan Kışanak called me. She said we will publish the newspaper. We published the newspaper with solidarity but I had thought, 'We can't publish a newspaper anymore.' But that wasn't the case. I was wrong. We published 45 more newspapers. Our difficult journey has always continued."

'The rule of the deep state continues'

Lawyer Eren Keskin spoke after Aykol, saying that the newspaper was bombed because of reporting on rights violations in Kurdish cities.

"This newspaper is the most oppressed publication in this region. Many employees of that were killed, from its nine-year-old distributor to 70-year-old Uncle Musa. None of the killers of them were disclosed. Those who ordered [for this], Mehmet Ağar [General Director of Security at the time], are arm in arm with the government today. Tansu Çiller [Prime Minister at the time] are sided with the government party.

"The deep state still continues its ruling. I am sided with this newspaper since that day. We are owed to our deceased. We are owed to Musa Anter. We continue to lay claim to this newspaper. This newspaper has a very important meaning for me. When I remember this newspaper, I understand that I must continue the struggle for human rights.

ETHA reporter was detained on his way to the event

ÖGİ Spokesperson Hakkı Boltan said that two editors from the Mezopotamya Agency, Sadiye Eser and Sadık Topaloğlu are currently in detention and Serdal Işık, an editor from the Etkin News Agency (ETHA), was detained on his way to the commemoration event.

"There are no bombings today but the bombing continues in a different form. It continues with the detention and arrest of journalists. Turkey is named a country that became a prison for journalists. According to a report we made, 139 journalists are in prison."

'We don't obey'

Ayşe Güney said, "The 25-year period is a long journey for us. The most basic legacy that Özgür Ülke left to us is courage. We are not slaughtered today but dozens of our friends can't do their profession because of the condition of judicial control. We can't even use the right to transportation and travel, the most basic right of the journalist. We continue our journalist without obeying."

(EMK/VK)