1st Edition of Turkish Zaman Daily After Govt Takeover Sees Smiling Erdogan on Front Page

Turkey's leading newspaper is now reporting on Fantasyland

 The editorial policy of Turkey’s best-selling Zaman newspaper, formerly critical of the government, has apparently gone through a change. The Sunday edition, under a newly appointed administration, now appears to support the official line.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan can be seen on the new Zaman daily’s front page, smiling in an article announcing a presidential reception on upcoming Women's Day (March 8). A costly governmental project of a new bridge to be built across Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait was also headlined, as well as reports on the funerals of "martyrs" killed in clashes with the Kurds.

More articles supporting the government could be found in the Sunday edition of the paper that has an estimated circulation of 650,000, AFP reported. Containing just 12 pages, the paper is a slimmer version of its previous self, and the content is sparse, according to Reuters.

Protests that erupted following what was widely seen as the seizure of Zaman’s headquarters in Istanbul by the government were glossed over in the new edition, Reuters reported. On Saturday, police used tear gas, water cannon and fired rubber bullets to disperse hundreds-strong crowds of Zaman readers.

Police also raided Zaman's building, forcefully imposing a Turkish court order to put the media under administration. The newspaper's editor-in-chief Abdulhamit Bilici was fired by the new trustees.

"The Sunday edition was not produced by Zaman's staff," one of the newspaper's journalists told AFP, adding, "internet has been cut off, we are unable to use our system."

"It’s impossible to continue to work at Zaman daily because the trustees who were assigned by the government will fire us a couple of days later. All of us will be fired from the newspaper. But if they don’t, of course we will resign, because it’s impossible to work with the government, we will not write what they want," Emre Soncan, a journalist from Today’s Zaman newspaper, an English version of Zaman daily, told RT on Saturday.

Zaman's website has been offline, while Today's Zaman online services have not been updated since Saturday. Government affiliates have also taken control of and blocked access to the outlet's Cihan news agency, Today's Zaman earlier reported.

The Zaman newspaper’s former team has launched a new paper of their own, "Yarina Bakis" ("Look to Tomorrow"), local media reported, saying that journalists had decided to remain in line with their previous editorial policy. The new paper reported on the weekend protests in Istanbul.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu denied any links between the government takeover of the paper and changes in its editorial policy, saying the seizure had nothing to do with the paper's criticism of the authorities.

"There are many media outlets in Turkey that criticize our government. None of them are subjected to legal procedures," Davutoglu told A Haber television on Sunday, as quoted by AFP. "What's in question here is not merely press activity, but rather an operation targeting a legitimate government that came to power with popular support," he added, referring to Zaman's affiliation with now US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, a fierce critic of President Erdogan, who was put on a "most-wanted terrorist list" by Ankara.

Of course, everything Davutoglu said is the very opposite to reality. There are many journalists in Turkish prisons for reporting the truth about Turkey's support of ISIS and their attempted annihilation of the Kurds. Erdogan is extremely ambitious and is solidifying his autocratic powers. He will never be removed from the office of head-of-state as long as he is breathing.

'Everyone is Being Framed', Journalist Deported from Turkey Tells of Govt Media Takeover

There are two reasons why autocratic states take over their media: 

1. They are doing, or planning something either illegal or immoral, ie invading Crimea

2. They are completely paranoid. The KGB and its forerunner kept Stalin terrified that someone was always trying to overthrow him. They knew it wasn't true but that's empire building at its finest.

But it doesn't have to be an either / or situation. It could well be that Erdogan is completely paranoid; and it is certain that he is assisting ISIS and attempting to destroy the Kurds.

Riot police use tear gas to disperse protesting employees and supporters of Zaman newspaper at the courtyard of the newspaper's office in Istanbul, Turkey March 5, 2016. © Osman Orsal / Reuters

The latest government takeover of the Zaman media outlet in Istanbul is "not a surprise at all," a journalist who had been working in the country told RT, adding that "the press has never been free in Turkey."

"Everybody who opposes them [the government], every journalist who is against the government is being framed. I was framed as a terrorist supporter and Zaman is linked to the Gulen movement – which is a movement of a religious Turkish leader [Sunni cleric Fethullah Gulen] who is based in the US, and they say he is trying to stage a coup against the government. So now Zaman journalists and people who read Zaman are being framed as coup supporters, that's how the government is doing it," Frederike Geerdink, Dutch freelance journalist who was deported from Turkey last year, told RT.

On Friday, the Istanbul-based Turkish-language Zaman newspaper, which has been sharply critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was ordered into administration by a court decision. Following the order, which the outlet journalists proclaimed an "unlawful takeover," the paper's editor-in-chief Abdulhamit Bilici was fired by trustees, while police put barbed wire around the headquarters.

"All content management systems at Zaman" have also been blocked by the new administration, Zaman's sister publication in English, Today's Zaman, said, with its journalists covering the situation via social media and posting updates on Twitter.

"All internet connection is cut off at the seized Zaman building by police raid," they posted, adding that after the takeover of the headquarters in Istanbul, Ankara office has also "lost access to company internal servers."

Government affiliates have also taken under control and blocked access to the outlet's Cihan news agency, Today's Zaman reported, adding that it is "the only news agency that was monitoring elections besides state-run Anadolu."

"It's not a surprise at all. Several of the government newspapers have in the last couple of weeks hinted at this [takeover] already, and other media who are linked to the Gulen movement have come under the same procedure with trustees," Frederike Geerdink, who has herself been prosecuted in Turkey "for making propaganda for a terrorist organization," said.

The journalist told RT that she has been in contact with one of Zaman's employees, who told her weeks ago that they had been "having a difficult time" because of government pressure. Zaman was losing advertisers and readers, "because if you work for the state you cannot be seen with Zaman under your arm, as it can lead to losing your job," the Dutch journalist was told by her Turkish colleague.

"Zaman was being attacked for months," she said, but added that the current situation with the media in the country "is not something new."

Two years ago, one of Today's Zaman journalists, Azerbaijan national Mahir Zeynalov, was deported from Turkey after having worked at the Turkish newspaper for years. The reporter was facing prosecution related to a tweet, his employers said, adding that a complaint against Zeynalov was filed by then PM Erdogan, accusing the journalist of "defamation and inciting public to hatred."

"People now think that Erdogan invented the lack of press freedom in Turkey - which is totally not true. He takes it to extreme heights – that's definitely true, but the press has never been free in Turkey," Geerdink told RT. "For example, 20 years ago nobody could go to the southeast to report on the realities there. At the time it was the army that was censoring the press, and now Erdogan is using the same mechanisms to silence opponents," she said.

Not only government-owned media outlets are being biased in Turkey, the Dutch journalist said. Some are under indirect, economic pressure.

"Most of the big papers and big channels, also the ones we call 'mainstream' which are not necessarily total mouthpieces of the government, have economic ties to the government, because they are part of big companies, and have to report in line with general government policy. [Otherwise] these companies lose contracts in the telecom market," Geerdink said, adding that CNN Turk – which hasn't been covering the Zaman protests, is one example.

"CNN Turk cancelled two rather popular talk shows of people who are not really in line with the government - and that is another problem in Turkey," she said.