[[GRETA]]  

 Hello and welcome …  

to Plugged In.  

I’m Greta Van Susteren ...  

reporting from Washington, DC.  

  

A bipartisan majority …  

of U.S. senators ...  

are urging …  

the Biden administration ...  

to pressure Turkey …  

to end its crackdown ...  

on domestic opposition ...  

  

And its silencing …  

of the media.  

  

Since president ...  

Recep Tayyip Erdogan ( Racep- Taheep- Urdoh-whan)  

came to power ...  

Turkey has been among …  

the world’s leading …  

jailer of journalists.  

  

Plugged In presents a new …  

Voice of America documentary ...  

showing how, under Erdogan ...  

one of the bedrock principles …  

of democracy has eroded ...  

freedom of the press.  

  

Here is “Turkey: Breaking the Silence.”  

 
 

(NARRATİON)) ((COLD OPEN)) ((Over beauty shots of Turkey, with the Turkish flag))   

It’s a nation forged from the ruins of a  

fallen empire …  

A once-poor country that in the early  

two thousands rose to become an  

economic success story…  

   

(NARRATİON)) ((Shot of Erdoğan speaking))  

And whose leader – Recep Tayyip  

Erdoğan – inspired hope.  

  

((Erdoğan)) ((Continue Erdoğan speaking with crowd reaction))  

Speech under.  

  
((SFX))  

Cheers.  

 

((Soner Çağaptay, Author of “Erdoğan’s Empire: Turkey and the Politics of the Middle East”)) ((More crowd reaction))  

“He came to power saying he respected  

democracy.”  

  

((Narration)) ((Shot of Erdoğan speaking.))  

Yet during his nearly two-decade rule,  

Erdoğan has repeatedly attacked one  

of democracy’s bedrock principles –  

freedom of the press.  

  

((Emma Sinclair, Webb Senior Turkey Researcher at Human Rights Watch))  

((Continuing footage of police harassing, arresting, escorting journalists.))  

“So we started to see a crackdown on media”  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((Continuing footage of police harassing, arresting, escorting journalists))  

It’s resulted in fines, arrests, trials,  

and imprisonment for journalists who  

question the government.  

  

 ((Yaman Akdeniz, Law Professor, Istanbul Bilgi University. Founder & Director,  

Cyber Rights)) ((Continuing footage of police harassing, arresting, escorting journalists…))  

“There is no space for freedom of  

expression and free media.”  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((Starting with generic shots of Turkish people …  

Shots of Mehmet scrolling through phone.))  

Many of Turkey’s citizens have seen  

their lives changed during Erdoğan’s  

years in power.  

Their views reveal a highly-polarized  

nation …  

  

((NARRATİON (continued) )) ((Shot of Mehtap reading the Koran))   

 divided by belief …  

  

((NARRATİON (continued) )) ((Shot of Şevket driving cab with passenger in the back seat.))  

 by politics …  

  

((NARRATİON (continued) )) ((Shot of Zozan singing))  

and ethnicity …  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((Shot of a pile of newspapers))   

A nation where the mainstream media  

is controlled by the government…  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((Reporter being hand-cuffed or hustled out by police))  

Where dissent is suppressed …  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((Police attacking protesters at Gezi))  

And democracy is under siege.  

  

((SFX)) ((TITLE SEQUENCE)) ((Opening graphic))  

Title music.  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((Footage of November 3rd 2002 celebration:   

Swarms of ecstatic people in the streets, celebrating.))  

November Third, Two Thousand Two.  

Ankara, Turkey.  

Outside the Justice and Development  

Party headquarters, a crowd  

celebrates a stunning landslide  

victory in Turkey’s national election.  

The party – known as the AKP – is the  

first with Islamist roots to win full  

control of the government in the  

nation’s history.  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((Shots of Erdoğan in the wake of the 2002 election.  

Continuing with Erdoğan on the balcony throwing roses to supporters.))  

It’s leader: a charismatic 48-year-old  

former mayor of Istanbul – Recep  

Tayyip Erdoğan.  

His victory speech brims with  

confidence.  

  

((Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey))  

(onscreen subtitles) ((Erdoğan speaking from the balcony.))  

“You have voted for democracy to  

function better. You have voted to  

replace a democracy incapable of ruling  

with a democracy that can rule!”  

  

((SFX))  

Roar from crowd.  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((More footage of November 3rd celebration.))  

Erdoğan had formed the AKP only a  

year earlier.  

But Turkey’s voters were ready for  

change.  

  

((Soner Çağaptay, Author of “Erdoğan’s Empire: Turkey and the Politics of the Middle East”)) ((Çağaptay in interview, intercut shots of Turkey from the 1990s – showing poor people, shop signs showing million figure lira for ordinary identifiaombs e items, etc))  

“Erdoğan’s election victory in 2002  

followed a decade of immense political  

and economic instability in Turkey. The  

country suffered from triple digit inflation  

in the 1990s, as well as cases of  

corruption that were aired out by the  

country’s free press at the time. So the  

electorate was sick and tired of what  

looked like unending political crises,  

economic crises ... and Erdoğan’s victory  

promised to bring in a breath of fresh air.”  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((Early footage of Erdoğan, at rallies.))  

“Erdoğan’s AKP platform proposed a  

series of democratic reforms – among  

them, pledging to ease up on the  

news media which had long been  

subject to government censorship.  

Turkey seemed poised for a new era.”  

  

((Lisel Hintz, Assistant Professor of International Relations, Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies)) ((Continuing with Lisel Hintz in interview, intercutting shots of an increasingly modernizing Turkey and shots of television newscasts; newspaper headlines))  

“There really was a lot of optimism in  

terms of issues that could be talked  

about … of what could be discussed on  

television, in the news, on the radio,  

even in the streets.”  

  

((SFX))  

Music for transition  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((A series of establishing shots of the Kasımpaşa neighborhood.))   

The AKP victory was especially  

welcomed in Kasımpaşa – the  

working-class neighborhood in  

Istanbul where Erdoğan grew up.  

  

It was then – and still is - an enclave  

where immigrants and conservative  

Turks from poor rural areas settle,  

hoping to find work and build a better  

life.  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((Footage of Ismail Demircan walking down the street, heading toward the mosque.))  

For many here, that life centers  

around their Muslim faith.  

Among them, 90-year-old hotel owner  

Ismail Demircan, on his way to the  

local mosque where he worships…  

As he’s done five times a day for over  

thirty years.  

  

((SFX))  

 Ambience …  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((Now inside the mosque, Ismail prays))  

Beneath the dome of the mosque – in  

the direction of Mecca – Ismail prays,  

steadfast in his commitment to his  

God, his country, and his president.  

  

((SFX))  

 Sound up on street noises etc  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((Intro Mehtap walking toward the hotel and then continue following her as she enters hotel.))  

Kasımpaşa is also home to Ismail’s  

daughter, Mehtap, who’s fifty years  

old, married, with three grown  

daughters of her own.  

She handles the daily management of  

her father’s hotel.  

Nearly two decades later, she  

remembers what election night 2002  

meant for pious Muslims.  

  

((Mehtap Demircan, Hotel Owner))  

(onscreen subtitles) ((Mehtap in hotel.))  

“That victory for Tayyip Erdoğan became  

our victory, thank God!”  

  

((Mehtap Demircan, Hotel Owner))  

(onscreen subtitles) ((Interview, intercutting Mehtap in hotel…))  

“Today, our country is a real democracy.  

But it wasn’t in the past.”  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((Historical footage of establishment of Turkish Republic, featuring footage of Atatürk))  

The Turkish Republic was born in  

1923 following the collapse of the  

Ottoman Empire.  

Its founder – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk –  

created a European-style state that  

excluded Islam – and all religion –  

from government.  

  

Secularism became Turkey’s modern  

faith.  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((Images of Muslims going to mosque. Continuing with archival shots of devout Muslims in streets – e.g., women wearing coverings - hijab, men wearing skullcap & long tunic))  

Devout Muslims felt left behind.  

  

For decades, they lived as second-  

class citizens, often viewed as  

backward – or even fanatical – by  

their secularist countrymen.  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((Generic shots of women wearing hijab in public – street scenes – footage of a woman in a hijab protesting being removed from a building.))  

During the 1980s, women wearing the  

‘hijab’ – a headscarf expressing their  

faith – were banned from schools,  

government buildings, and college  

campuses.  

  

18-year-old Mehtap was one of them.  

  

((Mehtap Demircan, Hotel Owner))  

(onscreen subtitles) ((Mehtap in interview. Intercutting shots of young women wearing headscarves being harassed))  

“I was prevented from going to college  

back then. Other women could go  

wearing a mini-skirt, yet I couldn’t  

because of my harmless scarf. That wasn’t fair  

I wish I’d fought like an Islamic warrior  

to wear the scarf and get my education.”  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((Mehtap in hotel, with father, interacting with staff.))  

Without a college degree, Mehtap had  

few career options.  

She went to work at her father’s hotel.  

  

((Mehtap Demircan, Hotel Owner))  

(onscreen subtitles) ((Mehtap in interview, intercutting footage of her interacting with staff…))  

“We’re a conservative family. We  

serve our guests according to traditional  

Islamic values – very observant, allowing  

no alcohol … And we’ve never had any  

problems because of our policies.”  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((Footage of Demircans in office watching Erdoğan on TV.))  

To Mehtap and her father, Erdoğan is  

more than a boy from Kasımpaşa who  

made good.  

  

He’s an old family friend.  
  

((Mehtap Demircan, Hotel Owner))  

(onscreen subtitles) ((Including pictures of Mehtap and Ismail with Erdoğan))  

“My father has known him since brother  

Tayyip was a young boy. He says, even  

then, there was something special about  

him. He sees Mr. Tayyip as a real  

leader, saying:  

  

“You can judge a man by the way he  

stands, the way he talks, by his actions.  

The man has challenged the world!”  

My father really likes this and is proud of  

him. He believes that Mr. Erdoğan is the   

most important leader of all times after Atatürk.”  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((More Erdoğan the politician speaking at a rally before adoring crowds))  

In rising to the country’s highest  

office, the unapologetically religious  

Erdoğan placed Islam at the heart of  

public life.  

Solidifying his stature among the  

faithful.  

  

((Mehtap Demircan, Hotel Owner))  

(onscreen subtitles) ((Mehtap in interview, intercutting shot of Erdoğan.))  

“Truly, when Mr. Tayyip came to power,  

we achieved democracy. Allah and the  

earth and sky bless him! We’re really  

happy, very happy with everything he  

does.”  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((Transition to period of Turkey’s economic rebirth under AKP. Images reflecting ‘a nation on the move,’))  

Erdoğan’s appeal wasn’t based solely  

on religion.  

  

During his first term in power, he  

gave millions of Turks – including the  

poor and disadvantaged — a bigger  

slice of the country’s economic pie.  

  

((Soner Çağaptay, Author of “Erdoğan’s Empire: Turkey and the Politics of the Middle East”)) ((Soner Çağaptay in July 2020 interview))  

“He lifted so many people out of poverty  

that I think he has therefore created a  

base of adoring worshipers who simply  

love him. Turks live much better off  

when compared to the pre-Erdoğan  

years.”  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((People celebrating Erdoğan win in 2007 and 2011 victory))  

And they expressed their gratitude at  

the ballot box.  

  

Voters rewarded Erdoğan’s AKP with  

national election victories in 2007 …  

… and then again in 2011.  

  

Western observers began to see  

Turkey as a democratic model for the  

Muslim world.  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Various shots featuring Erdoğan))  

But during this era of prosperity,  

Erdoğan had begun chipping away at  

one of democracy’s key pillars:  

  

Freedom of the press.  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((Graphic treatment of Musa Kart’s cartoon from Cumhuriyet))  

In 2004, a caricature set him off.  

Political cartoonist Musa Kart drew  

Erdoğan as a cat entangled in a ball  

of wool.  

  

Erdoğan sued Kart and the  

newspaper that printed the cartoon.  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((Image of Kart being ‘graphically’ slapped with a fine))  

The court ruled in Erdoğan’s favor  

and fined the cartoonist for publicly  

humiliating the Prime Minister.  

  

The decision was later reversed by  

Turkey’s Supreme Court.  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((More cartoon images critical of Erdoğan.))  

But it would not be the last time a  

cartoonist and Erdoğan clashed.  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((Footage of Erdoğan standing trial.))  

Yet to some it seemed at odds with  

the politician they thought they knew,  

since Erdoğan himself had famously  

been persecuted for speaking out.  

  

In April 1998, as mayor of Istanbul, he  

was found guilty of reciting a poem  

deemed a threat to Turkey’s  

secularist system.  

  

((SFX))  

 Crowd noise under  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((Erdoğan’s imprisonment, crowds accompanying him to the prison))  

The day he began his sentence,  

hundreds of supporters accompanied  

him to the prison … where he spent  

four months behind bars – celebrated  

as a champion of free speech.  

  

((Suzy Hansen, NYT Magazine Correspondent & Author of “Notes on a Foreign  

Country”)) ((Suzy Hansen in interview, intercut with Erdoğan arriving at prison, making his way through the crowd and entering prison offices.))  

“When Erdoğan went to jail, it was not  

only that it solidified his base amongst  

his traditional supporters. … I think that it  

made a lot of people in the population  

feel sympathetic to him. People who  

would have not normally been  

sympathetic to him – even leftists or  

secularists — because it was just seen  

as an injustice.”  

  

((NARRATİON)) ((Early footage of Erdoğan with his government ministers.))  

But once in control of the country,  

Erdoğan’s AKP went about  

suppressing dissent.  

  

((Emma Sinclair Webb, Senior Turkey Researcher at Human Rights Watch)) ((Emma Sinclair Webb in interview.))  

“The government, as it got more  

entrenched in power, became  

increasingly intolerant of criticism. So we  

started to see a crackdown on media.”  

  

((Suzy Hansen, NYT Magazine Correspondent & Author of “Notes on a Foreign  

Country”)) ((Suzy Hansen in interview, intercutting shot of newspapers shooting off printing press))  

“People from his party were calling  

editors and just saying   

‘Don’t do this, don’t write this,   

you know. I hope this isn’t going   

to be your headline tomorrow.’  

There had never been this situation   

where it was one political partythat   

had so much power that they were  

able to determine what the press was  

doing the next day or what they were  

writing about.”  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Shots of Ece Temelkuran working))  

Ece Temelkuran — then a columnist  

for the newspaper Haber Turk — was  

a casualty of this political pressure.  

She was fired after criticizing a  

government ban against reporting the  

accidental killing, by the Turkish Air Force   

of over thirtyKurdish villagers — many of  

them children.  

  

(Ece Temelkuran, Journalist / Author)) ((Ece Temelkuran in interview))  

“So the entire media was silent about the  

incident for over 24 hours. That, uh,  

made me angry. So I wrote two columns  

about the silence and why the silence  

was there. And the columns were  

directed at Mr. Erdoğan.  

And I was the first political columnist  

fired from her job in the mainstream  

media because of political reasons. And,  

then on, it was, it happened so fast, the  

entire media was silenced.”  

  

((NARRATION))  

 The media silence would later grow  

deafening.  

  

((SFX))  

 Music transition.  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Transition to drone shots over rural countryside – green hillsides, farmland, a cluster of village homes and mountains in the distance))  

Away from Turkey’s urban centers, in  

the country’s rural areas, religious  

beliefs and conservative values hold  

sway.  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Mehmet in the olive grove, walking among the trees))  

Mehmet Çelik lives in the village of  

Korubaşı, 260 miles southwest of  

Istanbul.  

  

The region’s known for its olive  

groves and the olive oil that’s made  

Turkey one of the top five producers  

in the world.  

  

Mehmet sees farming as his life’s  

work.  

  

((Mehmet Çelik, Farmer))(onscreen subtitles) ((Shots of Mehmet examining olive fruit on trees))  

“I was born to be a farmer... It’s not an  

easy life. You learn farming over time,  

through experience. There’s no school  

or short-cuts.”  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Mehmet plowing the field))  

For many in the region, farming is a  

family affair.  

  

Mehmet’s father, Mustafa, is in his  

late fifties and often helps his son in  

the fields.  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Continuing Mehmet plowing))  

Mehmet is 34, married, with a two-  

year old daughter.   

  

He’s been an AKP supporter since his  

teens.  

  

The party’s agricultural policies  

provide loans and subsidies to help  

farmers like him boost production  

and increase their income.  

  

((Mehmet, Farmer))  

(onscreen subtitles) ((Continuing with Mehmet clearing brush in the olive grove.))  

“Farmers need government support. It’s  

İmportant. For instance, when we plow  

the olive fields, we’re given diesel oil  

support. When we sow, we get fertilizer  

support.”  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Mehmet working on tractor))  

According to Mehmet, government  

programs during the 1990s – prior to  

the AKP taking power – were not  

much help to farmers.  

  

((Mehmet, Farmer))  

(onscreen subtitles) ((Continuing with Mehmet working on tractor, intercutting Mehmet in interview.))  

“Trying to get a government loan in the  

nineties wasn’t worth the trouble. The  

process was complicated with all sorts of  

files and documents. You had to get  

approval from too many places. It just  

wasn’t worth it.”  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Montage featuring Mehmet doing a series of jobs to ‘keep the farm running’ smoothly.))  

Altogether, the Çelik family owns 98  

acres of land, devoting about 24  

acres to growing a variety of crops.  

  

((Mehmet, Farmer))  

(onscreen subtitles) ((Over footage of Mehmet on the farm))  

“With farming, there are no vacations. No  

Sundays or Fridays off. There are no sick   

days or holidays. It’s the only profession   

where you don’t have time off.”  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Footage of harvester in the field.))  

In late summer, Mehmet works with  

his father, harvesting corn to produce  

silage – or feed – for his dairy cows.  

He bought his harvester with the help  

of a AKP government loan program.  

  

((Mehmet, Farmer))  

(onscreen subtitles) ((Intercut Mehmet harvesting action with interview.))  

“I used to rent a friend’s harvester, but  

then got a loan to buy my own. The   

bank arranged it so I could pay back   

the loan over five years, with my   

payments less than I paid to rent one.   

After that, the harvester is mine.”  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Mehmet looking at his phone, scrolling through articles))  

Though he’s far from the center of  

power, Mehmet keeps a close watch  

on Turkish politics.  

  

((Mehmet, Farmer))  

(onscreen subtitles) ((Mehmet in interview, Scrolling through articles on his phone))  

“Usually, I follow the opposition media,   

because I learn how they think, by   

looking at things through their eyes.  

However, their views should be civilized,  

not mocking or disparaging.”  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Mehmet reading articles on phone.))  

He says freedom of the press is fine  

in principle, but insists there are  

limits to what journalists can write or  

say.  

  

((Mehmet, Farmer))  

(onscreen subtitles) ((Continuing with Mehmet reading articles on phone, intercutting Mehmet in interview.))  

“You shouldn’t talk about press freedom  

and then insult the country’s leader.  

Just as a terrorist or criminal can threaten   

a country’s national security, so  

can people who insult our leaders in  

order to influence people’s opnions.”  

  

((SFX))  

Evening prayer to end the scene.  

  

((Mehmet, Farmer))  

(onscreen subtitles) ((TRANSITION: A shot of the town with the minaret silhouetted against the darkening sky with the sound of an evening prayer under.))  

“In Turkey, press freedom does not mean  

saying whatever you like.”  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Shots of newspaper articles criticizing AKP government.))  

Since its first term in power, the AKP  

government has aimed to stifle  

reporting it sees as negative or  

critical.  

But it doesn’t just target individual  

journalists.  

  

 ((NARRATION)) ((Footage of Hurriyet headquarters with supered headlines of newspaper reports of the scandal.))  

When the opposition newspaper,  

Hurriyet, reported on a AKP  

corruption scandal …  

… the government retaliated – fining  

the paper’s owners, Dogan Media,  

two-and-a-half billion dollars for  

supposed tax evasion.  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Graphic))  

Nearly bankrupted, the company had  

to sell two papers to an Erdoğan ally.  

  

((Nate Schankkan, Director for Special Research at Freedom House))   

((Schankkan in interview))  

“So the tax investigations against Dogan  

group really sent a signal that you  

shouldn’t cross us really and that there  

would be new red lines that they would  

enforce.”  

  

((REUTERS LOGO NEEDED)) ((REUTERS & VOA LOGO NEEDED)) ((REUTERS & VOA LOGO NEEDED))  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Erdoğan surrounded by a crowd of reporters at AK Party headquarters))  

Erdoğan had punished one disloyal  

media outlet.  

But that was just the beginning.  

Later, he would prove his domination  

of the entire mainstream press.  

  

((SFX)) ((‘City-scape’ transition: evening beauty shots of Istanbul – Şevket Şahintaş driving in his taxi as night falls))  

 Music accompanying transition  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Continuing Şevket Şahintaş driving at night …))  

Şevket Şahintaş has been driving a  

cab in the streets of Istanbul for more  

than thirty years … often working the  

night shift.  

  

But no matter the hour, he finds his  

passengers are eager to talk politics:  

  

((Şevket Şahintaş, Taxi Driver / Photographer))  

(onscreen subtitles) ((Nighttime scene featuring Sevket picking up customer who gets in the back seat of the cab.))  

“Generally, they’ll ask, “Which  

party do you support?” and, “What’s   

your view of the economy?’’  

If the rider is an AKP supporter,   

they tell me how great the country is   

doing. If they’re an opposition party  

supporter, they tell me that in the old  

days everything was better and that  

nowadays the country isn’t being run   

properly.”  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Şevket still with passenger in back seat of the cab))  

Şevket has long had doubts about  

Erdoğan and the AKP.  

  

((Şevket Şahintaş, Taxi Driver / Photographer))  

(onscreen subtitles) ((More of Şevket driving with passenger in back seat of the cab.))  

“I never supported Erdoğan. In 2002,  

when the AKP came to power, I was  

disappointed because I never  

believed that a religiously based political  

party in charge of the government  

would benefit this country.   

I still don’t believe it.”  

  

((NO LOGO NEEDED)) ((NO LOGO NEEDED)) ((NO LOGO NEEDED)) ((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((NO LOGO NEEDED)) ((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((NO LOGO NEEDED))   

  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Featuring protesters marching holding Turkish flag, chanting, followed by footage of police using water cannons to subdue them.))  

His skepticism peaked in May 2013.  

That’s when a government plan to  

build a shopping mall in Istanbul’s  

popular Gezi Park drew a small group  

of protesters … that grew … and  

grew.  

  

((NO LOGO NEEDED)) ((NO LOGO NEEDED)) ((NO LOGO NEEDED)) ((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((NO LOGO NEEDED))  

  

((Ece Temelkuran, Journalist / Author)) ((Intercut Ece Temelkuran and footage of various groups of protesters.))  

“They were, you know, people from  

opposite factions of politics…. The most   

colorful carnivalesque protest you could   

ever seen // And they wanted to tell the   

political power that they are not going   

to be enemies to each other….  

saying that we want to keep our  

solidarity. We don’t want to give in to the  

polarization that is forced upon us by this  

political power.”  

  

((NO LOGO NEEDED)) ((AP LOGO NEEDED))   

((NARRATION)) ((Şevket with camera in Gezi Park….intercut with Gezi protest))  

“An amateur photographer, Şevket  

was drawn to what was unfolding at  

Gezi Park.  

  

He took a week off work to document  

it.”  

  

((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((NO LOGO NEEDED)) ((NO LOGO NEEDED))  

  

((Şevket Şahintaş, Taxi Driver / Photographer))  

(onscreen subtitles) ((Şevket with camera in Gezi Park, intercutting with footage and Sevket’s photographs from Gezi Park uprising))  

“These were people who felt that their  

 voices weren’t being heard. They were   

speaking to the country’s leader who   

they believed was ignoring them, saying,   

“We also exist!”   

  

((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AFP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AFP LOGO NEEDED))  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Footage from early stages of Gezi protests.))  

A tense calm prevailed for two days  

at the Park.  

  

And then came the government’s  

response…  

  

((SFX))  

 Sounds of violence  

  

((AFP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AFP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AFP LOGO NEEDED)) ((REUTERS LOGO NEEDED)) ((AFP LOGO NEEDED)) ((NO LOGO NEEDED)) ((AFP LOGO NEEDED)) ((NO LOGO NEEDED)) ((NO LOGO NEEDED)) ((AFP LOGO NEEDED))  

  

((Lisel Hintz, Assistant Professor of International Relations, Johns Hopkins))  

((Continuing with chaos in the streets with police shooting tear gas bombs, smoke rising everywhere and cutting to Hintz in interview, continuing with shots of police running in the streets wielding guns, wide shot of smoke arising from the scene…  

Burning tent; protester being harassed by police; evening shot of sparks erupting on street; continuing with footage of protesters marching, etc.))  

“… the police crack down viciously on the  

peaceful protestors.  

  

So they torch their tents. They beat  

them. Images are taken on camera  

phones. They’re spread through the  

internet very quickly and within a few  

days, you have uprisings in 80 out of 81  

provinces in Turkey.  

  

What Erdoğan sees this as, rightly so, is  

the first real challenge against his power.”  

  

((AFP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AP LOGO NEEDED))) ((AP LOGO NEEDED))  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Various shots of chaos, crowds of protesters marching and chanting in the streets, police running to quell protesters..))  

Fearing government reprisals, many  

television news outlets continued  

with their regular daily programming,  

instead of covering the protests live.  

  

((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AFP LOGO NEEDED)) ((NO LOGO NEEDED))  

  

((Nate Schankkan, Director for Special Research at Freedom House)) ((Gezi protest footage, continuing with Schankkan interview.))  

“It was a striking experience to, in  

some cases, be able to look out your  

window and see people protesting,  

maybe in some cases to see police firing  

tear gas canisters down the street. And  

your biggest news channel was showing  

a nature documentary.”  

  

((AFP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AFP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AFP LOGO NEEDED)) ((NO LOGO NEEDED)) ((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AFP LOGO NEEDED))  

   

((Şevket Şahintaş, Taxi Driver / Photographer))  

(onscreen subtitles) ((Şevket interview with Gezi footage.))  

“Naturally it was the Government’s wish  

that the Gezi Park events would not be  

shown. And the fact that the press did  

not broadcast those events was proof  

that they did whatever the government  

wanted.  

  

… I think it was after Gezi Park that we  

started to ignore the mainstream media.”  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Footage continuing with a selection of Şevket’s stills.))  

During the unrest, protesters turned  

to social media to share news.  

Şevket kept his camera focused on  

the turmoil.  

  

((Şevket Şahintaş, Taxi Driver / Photographer))  

(onscreen subtitles) ((Şevket Şahintaş in interview intercutting with a selection of Şevket’s stills.))  

“At the beginning, I didn’t think Gezi  

Park would be so important.   

But it turned into very significant.”  

  

((NARRATION)) ((More photographs of Gezi protests.))  

The Gezi Park protests marked the  

birth of a grassroots, anti-AKP  

movement defending the right to free  

expression.  

  

((Şevket Şahintaş, Taxi Driver / Photographer))  

(onscreen subtitles) ((Şevket in interview with reprise of action of the protests))  

“Gezi Park was really important to me.  

  To see that there were many  

other people who thought like me and  

looked at life like I do - that was  

encouraging. I thought from that  

time on, we would be listened to more  

and things would never be the same  

again. But it didn’t go the way I  

hoped.”  

  

((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((NO LOGO NEEDED)) ((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AP LOGO NEEDED))  

  
((Lisel Hintz, Assistant Professor of International Relations, Johns Hopkins  

University, School of Advanced International Studies)) ((Hintz with Gezi Park footage))  

“Since the Gezi Park protest, there has  

been a very sharp polarization of society  

under the AKP. There’s a sense that  

you’re either with the AKP or you’re not.”  

  

((AP LOGO NEEDED))  

  

((NARRATION)) ((TRANSITION IMAGES))  

That polarization has heightened  

social and political tensions in the  

country.  

  

((SFX))  

 Bomb blasts, guns, staccato firing,  

Etc  

  

((COURTESY OF PHYSICIANS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS)) ((COURTESY OF PHYSICIANS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS))  ((AFP & VOA LOGO NEEDED)) ((REUTERS LOGO NEEDED)) ((REUTERS LOGO NEEDED)) ((REUTERS LOGO NEEDED)) ((REUTERS LOGO NEEDED)) ((REUTERS LOGO NEEDED))    

  

((NARRATION)) ((Archival footage of clashes between Turkish and PKK troops.))  

Since the mid-nineteen eighties, the Turkish army has fought the militant Kurdish group PKK, which seeks to establish an independent state in a region that includes southeast Turkey.   

  

  

The conflict has killed over forty thousand civilians and wounded untold numbers more.  

  

((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((MA LOGO NEEDED))   

  

((NARRATION)) ((More Archival footage of clashes between Turkish and PKK troops.))  

One opposition newspaper – Ozgur  

Gündem – had for years reported on  

Kurdish issues.  

And because of it, was a target of the  

Erdoğan government.  

   

((MA LOGO NEEDED)) ((MA LOGO NEEDED)) ((MA LOGO NEEDED)) ((NO LOGO NEEDED))  

    

((Zozan Bütün, Singer))  

(onscreen subtitles) ((Ozgur Gündem footage intercutting Zozan Bütün in interview.))  

“It was called terrorist propaganda, the  

‘disrupter’ newspaper,  

‘betrayer’newspaper. It was called these  

sorts of names.  

  

But, the truth is, it said what had  

to be said.”  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Footage of Zozan at Bookstore.))  

Zozan Bütün is a 26-year old Kurd  

who grew up reading Özgür Gündem  

in southeastern Turkey.  

She now works in an Istanbul  

bookstore.  

  

((Zozan Bütün, Singer))  

(onscreen subtitles) ((More Zozan in interview intercut with footage of Zozan working in the bookstore.))  

“Kurds don’t have a voice in Turkey.  

We have opinions, we have concerns,  

we have complaints, we have lives. But  

these weren’t reported in other media  

outlets.  

  

So, naturally, Özgür Gündem became  

our voice. It has a prominent place in  

Kurdish history.”  

  

((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AP LOGO NEEDED))  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Footage of launch of Ozgur Gündem Freedom of Expression campaign, featuring a meeting with volunteer editors.))  

Starting on May 3rd 2016 –  

International Press Freedom Day –  

Özgür Gündem launched a freedom  

of expression campaign.  

Its purpose: to protest the relentless  

government pressure and defend  

freedom of the press.  

  

((DOKUZ8 HABER LOGO NEEDED)) ((NO LOGO NEEDED)) ((NO LOGO NEEDED))   

  

((NARRATION)) ((More footage featuring a meeting with volunteer editors.))  

More than fifty journalists and  

activists volunteered to serve as  

‘guest editors for a day’ in support of  

the newspaper.  

  

((NO LOGO NEEDED)) ((MA LOGO NEEDED)) ((MA LOGO NEEDED)) ((MA LOGO NEEDED))   

  

((NARRATION)) ((Footage of trucks arriving and officers entering building and removing computers))  

But soon the Erdoğan government  

cracked down –  

investigating and arresting  

volunteers…  

  

jailing some … and accusing them of  

spreading terrorist propaganda.  

  

((AP LOGO NEEDED))  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Protest))  

Protesters denounced the censorship…  

  

((SFX))  

 Protesters chanting.  

  

((AP LOGO NEEDED))  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Shots of Ozgur Gündem protests))  

Trials were set for the fall of 2016.  

  

((AP LOGO NEEDED))  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Quick transition to jet plane flying over Parliament building.))  

But then came July 15th …  

  

((VOA LOGO NEEDED))  

  

((David Muir, ABC News)) ((David Muir on ABC))  

“Tonight we are monitoring that military  

coup underway in Turkey.”  

   

((SFX))   

Roar of jet plane and BANG!  

  

((VOA LOGO NEEDED)) ((REUTERS LOGO NEEDED)) ((REUTERS LOGO NEEDED)) ((REUTERS LOGO NEEDED))   

  
((NARRATION)) ((Footage of attempted coup in Ankara and Istanbul – soldiers in riot gear, tanks rolling down the street.))  

A faction in the military decided  

Erdoğan had to go.  

The control of Turkey seemed up for  

grabs.  

  

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((Mehtap Demircan, Hotel Owner))  

(onscreen subtitles) ((Mehtap Demircan in interview))  

“We were were returning at night  

 from a holiday with the children, when  

the roar of a jet overhead made me  

think ‘’Oh my god it’s probably the end of  

the world!””  

  

((SFX))  

Erdoğan speaking via Facetime.  

  

((AFP & CIHAN LOGO NEEDED)) ((VOA & DHA LOGO NEEDED)) ((REUTERS LOGO NEEDED))  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Footage of CNN-Turk studio anchor holding an iPhone to camera with Erdoğan on the screen CNN-Turk studio reporter.))  

“With his hold on power threatened,  

Erdoğan turned to social media,  

urging his supporters to take to the  

streets against the enemy.  

  

They did – with a fury.”  

  

((NO LOGO NEEDED)) ((AFP & CIHAN LOGO NEEDED)) ((AFP & CIHAN LOGO NEEDED))   

  

((NARRATION)) ((More footage of aircraft, Istanbul mosques lit up at night ))  

Amid the roar of F-16s overhead --  

and bombs exploding — came  

haunting sounds issuing from the  

mosques.  

  

((SFX))  

 Sound of sela…  

  

((NARRATION))  

A prayer known as a sela …  

  

((Ece Temelkuran, Journalist / Author)) ((Temelkuran intercut with footage of mosque as sela echoes through the night))  

“It’s a certain prayer that we do after  

death, like, you know, death of  

someone. That night, calling people to  

resist a coup through prayers was  

something completely unprecedented.  

And it was the clear sign that this  

country will be more Islamized from this  

day on.”  

  

((AFP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AFP LOGO NEEDED)) ((VOA LOGO NEEDED))  

  

((NARRATION)) ((TV news shots of aftermath of coup… streets in disarray, soldiers surrendering on Bosphorus Bridge… officer being taken into custody by government soldiers/police))  

Within twelve hours, the coup attempt  

was broken.  

  

More than 250 people died.  

  

Thousands were injured.  

  

 
 

  

((NARRATION)) ((Kadri Gursel in Medyascope studio reporting))  

Turkey’s media landscape grows  

increasingly dark.  

  

Some journalists have fled to the  

internet and social media – the last  

open spaces for public debate and  

free speech.  
  

But the digital realm may not be a  

haven for long.  

  

((AP LOGO NEEDED))  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Graphic of law onscreen with  

shot of users on computer))  

The Erdoğan government has  

tightened internet censorship –  

passing a new law that controls  

social media with fines and the  

removal of content it considers  

offensive.  

  

It also requires social media  

companies to maintain offices – and  

store user data — inside Turkey,  

which raises privacy concerns.  

  

The scope of the law is  

unprecedented.  

  

((NO LOGO NEEDED)) ((AFP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AFP LOGO NEEDED)) ((GETTY LOGO NEEDED))   

  

((Yaman Akdeniz, Law Professor, Istanbul Bilgi University. Founder & Director,  

Cyber Rights)) ((Yaman Akdeniz in interview))  

“Everyone knows about the struggle for  

freedom of expression and free media in  

Turkey. But the magnitude of the problems  

 we have here is not known by many.  

Over two hundred forty three thousand  

websites are currently blocked.  

And over hundred fifty  

thousand news articles or URL  

addresses are currently blocked.  

Over twelve thousand blocking  

decisions are issued every year. And  

over fifteen hundred Twitter accounts  

are blocked from Turkey. This is the  

country we live in…”  

   

 ((AFP LOGO NEEDED)) ((REUTERS LOGO NEEDED))  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Footage of Erdoğan giving a speech to people))  

What’s to become of a country whose  

government prosecutes those who  

speak out … those who ask  

questions, and refuse to remain  

silent?  

  

((AFP LOGO NEEDED)) ((REUTERS LOGO NEEDED)) ((AFP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AFP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AFP LOGO NEEDED)) ((REUTERS LOGO NEEDED)) ((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((YOUTUBE LOGO NEEDED))  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Shots of Turkish flags next to Attaturk statue and journalists being arrested, Erdoğan giving a speech))  

Press freedom is enshrined in  

Turkey’s Constitution, though there  

have always been limits.  

  

In the nation’s history, civil and   

military leaders have exploited those  

limits – punishing journalists for  

allegedly endangering national  

security, or for supporting terrorism.  

  

The Erdoğan government has taken it  

to the extreme, seeking to curtail free  

speech and outlaw opposing views.  

  
((REUTERS LOGO NEEDED))  ((AP LOGO NEEDED)) ((AFP LOGO NEEDED))  

  

((NARRATION)) ((Shots of protests. Close with a shot of a poster reading in English: ‘Journalism is Not a Crime.’))  

Now the question is not only whether  

freedom of the press will survive in  

Turkey ...  

   

But whether the country’s democracy  

itself will survive.  

  

((SFX)) ((BRIEF DIP TO BLACK))  

Music continues  

  

((ONSCREEN TEXT)) ((TEXT ON BLACK))  

In August 2020, Fatih Portakal left Fox  

Haber Television on his own accord.  

He continues to offer political commentary  

on his YouTube channel.  

  

((ONSCREEN TEXT)) ((TEXT ON BLACK))  

After more than three years – and  

following Turkey’s Supreme Court  

upholding their appeal of their  

convictions – the outcome of the  

Cumhuriyet employees trial has not  

yet been decided.  

  

[[GRETA]]  

  

That’s all the time …  

we have for now.  

  

To watch …  

the entire documentary …  

find it on our home page …  

at VOANews.com.  

  

That’s where …  

you can also …  

stay up to date ...  

on the latest news.  

  

And follow me on Twitter...  

@Greta.  

 

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Plugged In.