It has been 29 years since Özgür Gündem, the first daily newspaper to be published in Turkish in the history of the Kurdish press, started its publication life. The newspaper, which started its publication life in Istanbul on May 30, 1992, appeared with the headline "Sovereignty unconditionally belongs to the State Security Court" in its first edition. The offices of the newspaper, which became the target of the state with the news it carried to its pages and headlines, were burned, its writers, reporters and distributors were murdered in attacks that were left unsolved. It was closed on April 14, 1994 by a court decision.

 

147 YEARS IMPRISONMENT FOR EMPLOYEES

 

During the first broadcasting period of Özgür Gündem, 8 reporters and writers, including Musa Anter, and 19 distributors were murdered by unknown assailants. Many offices of the newspaper were attacked and law suits were filed for 486 issues of the newspaper which had a total of 580 issues. The newspaper employees were sentenced to a total of 147 years in prison.

 

BOMBED WITH THE ORDER OF TANSU ÇİLLER

 

The technical building of the newspaper in Kadırga, Istanbul, its Central Office in Cağaloğlu and its Ankara Office were bombed on 3 December 1994. Ersin Yıldız, 32, the transportation officer in the Kadırga office, died and 23 employees were injured. Years later, Tempo Magazine published documents stating that then Prime Minister Tansu Çiller had ordered the bombing.

 

ON DUTY CHIEF EDITORSHIP

 

Before the decision to shut down the newspaper, the "Co-Editor-in-Chief on Duty" campaign was launched on 3 May World Press Freedom Day in 2016, against the pressure on the newspaper. Within the scope of the campaign, Turkey Representative of Journalists Without Borders, Erol Önderoğlu, Chairman of the Central Council of the Turkish Medical Association Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı, many journalists, writers, academics and politicians have become the on duty chief editors of the newspaper. Investigations were launched against 49 of the 100 on duty chief editors. 11 of them resulted in non-prosecution decision while law suits were filed against 38 of them. 63 law suits were filed against Hüseyin Aykol who was the actual editor- in- chief of the newspaper during that time. Aykol who was sentenced to 3 years and 9 months in prison, was arrested on July 11, 2019 and sent to Sincan Prison. Aykol was released as a result of his lawyers' application for a stay of execution following the 'new judicial package' entering into force.

 

Hüseyin Aykol, who was the co-editor of Özgür Gündem for a long time, of which he was one of the founders, evaluated the mission undertaken by Özgür Gündem and its place in the tradition of Free Press.

 

Reminding that they first started the publishing of 'Halk Gerçeği' (Truth of the people), a weekly magazine in 1990, before Özgür Gündem Newspaper, Aykol said: "Halk Gerçeği was in a tabloid size, just like the Yeni Yaşam now. We published a newspaper with several politicians from different backgrounds.  However, we had a printing house problem from the first day we released it, so we couldn't print the first issue on time. Later we solved that problem but the pressure continued and the newspaper was closed."

 

YENİ ÜLKE NEWSPAPER

 

Expressing that they continued their journey with the weekly Yeni Ülke Newspaper after the closure of the Halk Gerçeği weekly magazine, Aykol said: "The circulation of Yeni Ülke has increased continuously as the reporters of the New Country increased, especially in Kurdistan. With the increase of the numbers of the reporters, news started flowing from every village in Kurdistan. There came a time when our readers in Europe wanted to reach the newspaper, so we started its edition in Europe and it reached a circulation of 50 thousand in Turkey and Europe. As a weekly newspaper, although this circulation was a huge figure, it was not enough to meet the needs of the people. We launched Özgür Gündem out of the need for a daily newspaper."

 

PLATFORM FOR THE KURDISH REVOLUTIONARIES

 

Stating that they invited seasoned journalists who had previously directed daily newspapers to the Özgür Gündem, Aykol said: "“Our first founding editorial director was Ahmet Kahraman. With his advice, some friends who worked in daily newspapers were offered a job and Özgür Gündem started like this. Özgür Gündem later came out with an editorial board. Moreover, since it was the only leftist newspaper in those days, various thinkers, writers and illustrators from various organizations of the left came to our newspaper. In this sense, Özgür Gündem became a platform of the Turkish and Kurdish revolutionaries alike."

 

KURDISH RENAISSANCE

 

Aykol emphasized that Özgür Gündem has attracted the attention of the state and has become a target with its news and articles. Underlining that many people working for the newspaper were assasinated, Aykol added that in addition to reporters and writers, many newspaper distributers were also killed. Aykol said, "This was the beginning of Özgür Gündem. However, due to the fact that the weekly newspaper started to sell well, but it did not meet the news needs of the people, we switched to Özgür Gündem. We call this period the 'Kurdish renaissance'. The Kurds declared that they would establish a new party, and the People's Labor Party (HEP) was founded in those years. Newspapers are coming out, a newspaper broadcasting in Kurdish was being published, there were publishing houses we worked with, the Kurds started to publish their books. Since the 1990s, a Kurdish renaissance began to take place in Turkey. On the one hand, it was a great awakening, but on the other hand, Özgür Gündem emerged under the great attack of the state. This was the first great encounter of the two great powers and unfortunately it was a very bloody encounter in those days.”

 

'WE EXPOSED THEM'

 

Stating that the Turkish press knew what was happening at the east and south east of Turkey at the time, Aykol said: "They were following what was going on but they wrote what the government or the army commanders said. We were writing the truth. We exposed the lies of those journalists. We started to push them in terms of real journalism. They were forced to write about what was going on in the Kurdish cities."

 

'WE BROUGHT THE REAL NEWS TO THE PEOPLE'

 

Reminding that Gurbetelli Ersöz was the Editor-in-Chief in the second year or Özgür Gündem, Aykol said: "She is not mentioned much but she is the first female editorial director in the history of Turkey. Then we switched to co-chair system in the newspaper. We showed that a newspaper can be published in a democratic environment and Kurdish question could be solved by being discussed. This is why all our newspapers were closed by the governments. We were under great pressure, but we continued on our way anyway. We set an example for the leftist socialist circles with the publishing of Özgür Gündem. We showed that this could be done."

 

JOURNALISM IS A WAY OF LIFE

 

Stating that journalism is a way of life, Aykol said: "I got into a medical faculty but did not finish it. Being a journalist did not require a collage degree. It is a way of life. You have to read at all times, educate yourself and write. At a point in my life I realized that this country is not ready for socialism. But in order for it to be a democratic country, the Kurdish question must be resolved. So I chose journalism, which is a way for me to contribute to a solution." 

 

'I HAVE A DEBT TO THİS COMMUNITY' 

 

Underlining that getting tired and considering to give up is possible on this way, Aykol said: "You can quit because you want to start a family, have a different life, or because you are not getting paid enogh, but I didn't. And I wouldn't. It wouldn't be right. I am still a journalist and my life will probably end in a prison. I am still an idealist and I have a debt to this community. Most of the people, my friends I set out on this road are martyred, or they are in prisons. That's why I came to the office the earliest, do what I I have to do and continue when I get back home. What keeps me here is my debt to my friends. They were murdered because they were journalists. We have friends who have been in prisons for years. We have to be here. This is way of life. This is a way to fight back. I am determined to hold this line continuously attacked by the Turkish state to my last breath."

 

'WE CAN NOT BE SAVED ON OUR OWN'

 

Aykol also gave advice to journalists within the tradition of the Free Press. Aykol said, “The place you are in is a very difficult but very honorable place. Indeed, you will collect the best memories you can leave to your children and grandchildren here. And after looking at all the oppression, bullying and injustice you have suffered, you should think about this; There is no such thing as being saved on your own, either we will be saved as a people together, or we will all be pressured and economically challenged as long as they are are in power. It's a beautiful way of life and a beautiful way to fight back. You may be too tired to realize this now but even having your head high will be a good memory in your life. This is the legacy of Özgür Günden and free press."

 

 

MA / Zemo Ağgöz