Home > Media News > 'Cemaat' censorship from the printing house to the newspaper headline in İzmir: 'Light leaked into the void'

'Cemaat' censorship from the printing house to the newspaper headline in İzmir: 'Light leaked into the void'

Hakan Dirik, Editor-in-Chief of the local İzmir newspaper Yenigün, announced that their headline regarding a large-capacity student dormitory opened by the Işıkçılar Cemaati (Community of Light) in İzmir was not printed by the printing house, which cited various technical justifications, forcing them to change the headline. The Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS) also reacted to the censorship, stating, "The censorship of today's headline of the Yenigün newspaper, published in İzmir, by the printing house is a dark stain that will go down in press history."

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The headline of the local Yenigün newspaper, published in İzmir, regarding the Işıkçılar Cemaati was blocked by the printing house, and the newspaper had to change its front page for the printing to proceed.

Yenigün Editor-in-Chief Hakan Dirik, in his article titled "October goes, but what about the climate?.." on yenigun.com, wrote that the printing house refused to print the headline covering the opening of the first large-capacity dormitory in İzmir by the İhlas Foundation, known to belong to the Işıkçılar Cemaati, in the Buca Atatürk Neighborhood.

Stating that they had decided on the headline "LIGHT LEAKED INTO THE VOID" for the newspaper, Dirik explained that they learned the newspaper "would not be printed with this headline" via a phone call from the printing house around 20:00. Explaining that the printing house claimed it would not perform the printing due to a technical issue related to the design time, Dirik used the following expressions:

'EITHER WE WILL REMOVE THE NEWS AND SUBMIT, OR WE WILL RESIST'

"The printing house first reached our owner, Mesut Şimşek, saying, 'We will not print your newspaper with this headline.' We realized that we had made a small oversight during the news and design phase when Şimşek conveyed the situation. Because our newspaper was being printed 'in the light.' At that hour, although it was possible to produce various printing options on paper, in reality, we didn't have many options. Either we remove the news and submit, or we resist! The option of 'keeping the newspaper exactly as it is' could not even be brought to the table. If the newspaper were not printed and released the next day, the employment security of our approximately 30 employees would be shaken by the sanctions to come. It was understood that while we were saying September, October, the 'night' itself would be difficult to get through."

Dirik said that they had to prepare a new front page as a result, and decided to carry the words of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, "Gentlemen, oh nation, know that the Republic of Turkey cannot be a land of sheikhs, dervishes, disciples, and followers," to the headline.

'SECTS, COMMUNITIES, AND THEIR EXTENSIONS ARE AMONG THE FOREMOST PROBLEMS OF SOCIETY'

Stating that the final version of the newspaper was printed at the same printing house, Editor-in-Chief Hakan Dirik said, "It was the final hours of printing when the printing house called. We had to follow such a path. In tutelage or coup regimes, the front pages of newspapers would sometimes come out blank. At least we managed not to come out blank, but our headline came out without the news."

Expressing that Yenigün newspaper tries to continue its publication life as a platform where every segment of society can make its voice heard, Dirik made the following statements in his explanation to BirGün:

"Sects, communities, and their extensions are among the foremost problems of society. We already experienced the most obvious example of this on July 15. I think it is also the duty of journalists to monitor what is being done. Journalists are obligated to share the information they obtain with the public. Therefore, we faced a 'technical' glitch while trying to fulfill this public duty. We were worried about being able to publish the newspaper that night. We also needed to show our reaction. We chose to come out with the headline 'Rest in Light' and a front page that reminds us of the path Mustafa Kemal Atatürk drew for the Republic of Turkey."

"A DARK STAIN"

The Journalists Union of Turkey published a statement of support on social media regarding the issue.

In the statement where the news of the unprinted headline was shared, it was stated, "The history of the Turkish press is full of printing house raids, newspaper seizures by prosecutor's orders, publication bans, and newspaper closures. The censorship of today's headline of the Yenigün newspaper, published in İzmir, by the printing house is a dark stain that will go down in press history. On the other hand, we are in the year 2024 and it is impossible to prevent the spread of information. Both to teach a lesson to the censors and to announce that we are in solidarity with our colleagues at Yenigün, we are publishing the headline that was not delivered to the reader today."

On the other hand, support for Yenigün newspaper also came from CHP İzmir Deputy Murat Bakan.

In his post, Bakan said, "You can seize/close newspapers, you can put pressure on newspapers through the Press Advertisement Agency and on journalists through the judiciary, you can get access bans, and you can even attempt censorship through the printing house, but you cannot prevent freedom of the press or the public's right to receive news."

'ALL NEWSPAPERS WILL COME OUT WITH THE SAME HEADLINE'

Furthermore, 12punto columnist, journalist, and member of the High Board of the Turkish Press Council, Doğan Satmış, tagged the İzmir Journalists Association on his social media account and said, "All newspapers have decided to come out with the same headline."