According to Assoc. Prof. Aslı Tunç, Head of the Media and Communications Systems Department at Bilgi University, the polemic between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and president of the Doğan Goup Aydın Doğan about the news appeared in Germany has shown one more time how important free media is in a democracy.

The cause of the fierce arguments between the Prime Minister and the Doğan Media Group was the case in Germany against Deniz Feneri (Lighthouse), which is accused of fraud in collecting donations from the Turks living in Germany for various disasters. Prime Minister’s name was mentioned by one of the accused and this was reported by the newspapers of the Doğan Media Group.   

Reminding that “it is obvious that the governments cannot exist in democracies without tolerating criticism and pluralism”, Tunç told bianet that the most important criterion for democratic behavior is “the attitude those who have the power show to criticism.”

Tunç: There is no tradition of democracy; their tendency for choose suppression is too much

Tunç says that the tendency to choose suppression especially in dealing with the adverse and opposite voices is too much in societies where the tradition of democracy is not well established. She sees the latest developments as an example of how the organic connection between the ruling powers and the media groups inevitably reaches a dead-end because of different conflicts of interests.

“It is ironic that after having been under constant criticism by the media academicians for gathering too much power and control in various fields of economy, politics and social life, the Doğan Media Group is now the defender of the freedom of expression and democracy.”

“The latest polemic between the Prime Minister and a media boss, threatening each other through the media organs, has reminded us one more time how important democracy is.” (EÖ/EÜ/TB)