Turkey’s far-right leader rebukes journalist over question about rift with Erdoğan

The leader of Turkey’s far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) reprimanded a journalist for asking a question about an alleged rift between him and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over the launch of a new peace process with the country’s Kurds, the Serbestiyet news website reported.

Serbestiyet reporter Hilal Köylü was among the reporters who asked Bahçeli questions following an MHP parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday.

“Is there a disagreement between you and President Erdoğan about the peace process?” Köylü asked Bahçeli.

In response, Bahçeli scolded the journalist, saying members of the press should avoid actions that could lead to provocation and foment polarization in the country by spreading disinformation.

“If you cannot, quit the profession,” an angry Bahçeli told Köylü.

Instances of Bahçeli or Erdoğan publicly rebuking journalists are not uncommon in Turkey, which has a poor record on freedom of the press. Journalists from critical outlets are often not admitted to events or press conferences to prevent them from asking challenging questions. There are also claims that some journalists are given a list of approved questions they can ask Erdoğan when he appears on TV for interviews.

The prospect of a new peace process was raised last month after Bahçeli made a surprising offer to the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan. Bahçeli suggested that he deliver a speech at a group meeting of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) and call on the PKK to lay down its arms. Bahçeli even said the dissolution of the PKK could pave the way for Öcalan’s release from prison.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies, has waged a war against the Turkish state since 1984. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict. Öcalan has been held in a high-security prison on İmralı Island in the Sea of Marmara since 1999.

Rights groups routinely accuse Turkey of undermining media freedom by arresting journalists and shutting down critical media outlets, particularly since President Erdoğan survived a failed coup attempt in July 2016.

Turkey, which has had a poor record on freedom of the press for years, ranked 158th among 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index published in May.