Sevgi Akarcesme

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Turkey’s Intelligentsia Kneels to Erdogan

On July 27, just minutes before my flight from Brussels to Newark was due to take off, a United Airlines staff member approached and asked me to leave the plane. I felt humiliated by the unspoken assumptions of nearby passengers, but I was not shocked: I knew that Turkey was canceling people’s passports to punish those it regarded as critics of its increasingly authoritarian government.

Back in March, the government seized control of the English-language newspaper Today’s Zaman, of which I was the editor in chief. I had fled Istanbul, my hometown, to avoid further repercussions, but the state was not satisfied with forcing journalists like me into exile.…  Seguir leyendo »

Protesting the government takeover of Zaman newspaper, in Istanbul. Credit Emrah Gurel/Associated Press

The virtual control he already has of a majority of Turkey’s newspapers and TV stations apparently isn’t enough for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. On Friday, with the zeal of its despotic leader, his government seized my paper, Today’s Zaman, and its parent, the Turkish-language Zaman, which is the highest-circulating daily in the country. Together, these titles were two of the few remaining independent voices inside Turkey — and Today’s Zaman, in particular, was a reliable English-language news source for diplomats, academics and expatriates.

On Friday, a government-controlled court appointed trustees to take over the newspapers in what amounts to a politically motivated assault.…  Seguir leyendo »