TGC member journalist Hikmet Çetinkaya laid to rest

A ceremony attended by numerous journalists was held on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, at 11:00 AM for Hikmet Çetinkaya, a member of the Turkish Journalists Association (TGC), recipient of the 2014 Burhan Felek Press Service Award, holder of a Permanent Press Card, and columnist for Cumhuriyet newspaper.

TGC board members, his family, and friends spoke at the ceremony held at the TGC's Cağaloğlu building to bid farewell to Hikmet Çetinkaya.

The ceremony was attended by TGC President Vahap Munyar and Secretary General Sibel Güneş from the TGC Board of Directors, Ballot Committee Member Haşmet Levent Yavuz, TGC members Erol Aktı, Kaplan Taneroğlu, and Serdar Kızık, Istanbul Bar Association President İbrahim Kaboğlu, Hürriyet newspaper columnist Yalçın Bayer, Turkish Writers' Union 2nd President Mustafa Köz, Cumhuriyet newspaper Editor-in-Chief Mine Esen, Cumhuriyet newspaper columnists Özlem Yüzak and Bedri Baykam, and many other journalists.

Hikmet Çetinkaya's family members present at the ceremony included his wife Nezihe Çetinkaya, his daughters Prof. Dr. Bertil Emrah Oder, Prof. Dr. Sıla Çetinkaya, and Ayşe Çağrı Çetinkaya, his grandchildren Lara, Batu, and Lila, his sister Betül Berişler and her husband Kemal Berişler, and his sons-in-law Dr. Burak Oder and Prof. Dr. Halit Üster.

The first speech at the ceremony was delivered by TGC President Vahap Munyar. Stating that he first met Hikmet Çetinkaya when he was the İzmir Representative of Cumhuriyet newspaper, Vahap Munyar said:

“I met Hikmet Çetinkaya through Kenan Mortan. We met frequently afterward. He was a very important mentor to me. During my student years, I used to read his interviews in Cumhuriyet newspaper. He was the first journalist to write about FETÖ, which became a major problem for the country. He paid a price for this. He was targeted and put on trial. However, what we have experienced has more than confirmed what Hikmet Çetinkaya wrote about FETÖ. He was an important pen, an important senior member of our profession. I wish patience and offer my condolences to his family, our members, and his friends.”

TGC Secretary General Sibel Güneş pointed out that Hikmet Çetinkaya was a Cumhuriyet intellectual who dedicated his entire life to the issues of the country.

Noting that Hikmet Çetinkaya voiced the country's problems, events harmful to the public interest, and human rights violations through his interviews, news reports, articles, and books, Sibel Güneş said, “We will never forget Hikmet Çetinkaya, who was a member of our association for 41 years. We remember him with love and respect.”

Speaking on behalf of the family, Çetinkaya's daughter, Boğaziçi University Faculty of Law lecturer and member of the TGC Sedat Simavi Awards Social Sciences Selection Committee, Prof. Dr. Bertil Emrah Oder, said:

“I thank the TGC for organizing this memorial ceremony. He dedicated 55 years of his life to Cumhuriyet newspaper. Thanks to him, Cumhuriyet became our home as well. For many years, he carried the voices of the oppressed, the powerless, and the poor to the press. He worked intensely for an equal, free, secular, and democratic Turkey, against economic, political, and religious exploitation. The intellectuals, scientists, artists, journalists, and human rights defenders of a democratic and arduous generation became our family too. He leaves us with very rich memories.”

Turkish Writers' Union 2nd President Mustafa Köz said in his speech, “Hikmet Çetinkaya was our member for many years. He was one of our first members. It is not easy to be a journalist and a human rights defender for 50 years. He gave a lifetime. If he had another life, he would have given that too. He fought for the people, not for his own happiness, but for the happiness of the world. May he rest among words.”

Istanbul Bar Association President Prof. Dr. İbrahim Kaboğlu included the following views in his speech:

“I knew Mr. Hikmet from his articles in the newspaper when I was a high school student. I tried to read his articles until his last breath. His struggle and writings during the troubled periods of the country, in the era when FETÖ was called Fethullah Efendi, remain in all of our memories. His struggle in the Cumhuriyet trial was also always about journalism. I remember him with love and respect.”

WHAT DID HIS FRIENDS SAY?

Colleagues and friends who attended the ceremony to bid farewell to Hikmet Çetinkaya expressed their thoughts as follows:

Yalçın Bayer: “We worked together with Hikmet Çetinkaya at Cumhuriyet newspaper for many years. We used to argue a lot about news. We hired Hikmet Çetinkaya as a young journalist while working with Bülent Dikmener. He was a very successful and hardworking journalist. He cared deeply about Cumhuriyet newspaper. You can see the entire picture of Turkey from what he wrote. I am very sad. I remember him with love and respect.”

Özlem Yüzak: “I had infinite love and respect for Hikmet. His upright stance, his writings, and his friendship were very important to us. I bow with respect before his memory. I offer my condolences and patience to his family and colleagues.”

Akın Atalay: “I had a friendship with Hikmet that started in 1992. Journalism was in his nature. He trained many journalists at the institution where he worked. He had a great contribution to the success of many reporters and editors. We see that he is reaping what he sowed. The people he helped train are fighting under these difficult conditions with the values he defended. I am glad we knew him, we love him, farewell.”

Bedri Baykam: “We worked together during the most chaotic days that led Turkey to where it is today, during the years when we fought against bigots and FETÖ members, and when intellectuals were being murdered. Hikmet Çetinkaya was at the forefront of those who continued on their path with the same courage without making concessions. He stood tall and fought against all structures serving anti-democratic ambitions.”

Serdar Kızık: “Hikmet Çetinkaya was my older brother. I learned journalism from him. He was a brave heart. He was a very important value and intellectual for Turkey. I am very sad that we lost him.”

Following the ceremony at the Association, Hikmet Çetinkaya's funeral will be laid to rest at the Çengelköy Cemetery on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, after the noon prayer at the Levent Barbaros Hayrettin Mosque.

WHO IS HIKMET ÇETİNKAYA?

He was born in Edremit in 1942. He completed his high school education at Manisa Boys' High School. He began his career in 1966 at Cumhuriyet newspaper. He worked as a reporter and interviewer at Cumhuriyet newspaper for many years. He had been a columnist since 1988. He served as the newspaper's İzmir representative for a period. He held the position of General Publication Coordinator at Cumhuriyet newspaper from 1992 to 2000.

He has 36 published books. Some of his books include: Aşık Kadınlar Sokağı, go home, Din Baronunun Kazları, Şeriat Pazarı, Sevdanın Adresi Belli Değil, Gözlerin Poyraz, Bir Güneydoğu Gerçeği: Necla, Alaca Bir Öfke, Troya'dan İyonya'ya: Mitolojik Aşklar Coğrafyası, Kadınlar Yağmur ve Kuşlar, İrticanın Kara Yüzü: Usame Bin Ladin'den Kaplancılar'a, Kubilay Olayı ve Tarikat Kampları, ABD'nin Kürt Kozu ve Bağdat'ın Çocukları, Çağımızın Üç Tanığı: Hıfzı Veldet Velidedeoğlu, Muzaffer İzgü ve Samim Kocagöz, Gülün Ölüm Yüzyılı, 68'den 78'e: Sancılı Yıllar Kuşatılmış Sokaklar, Türkiye'nin Şeytan Üçgeni: Tarikat-Ticaret-Siyaset, Kuzu Postunda Kurt: Tarikat-Ticaret-Siyaset, Soros'un Çocukları, Amerikan Mızıkacıları, Yobaz ve Hokkabaz, Atatürk Devrimleri ve Dinci Kuşatma.

He was married and a father of three daughters. He was the recipient of the 2014 Burhan Felek Press Service Award. He held a Permanent Press Card.