The publisher of Huryiet newspaper, the Dogan Media Group, is the only independent voice in Turkey’s media landscape to have survived the government takeovers, and it is next for the chop, says Robert Ellis, a former contributor to Zaman newspaper and commentator on Turkish affairs in the Danish and international press.

Robert Ellis, commentator.

Already, Dogan is under attack by the pro-government Turkquaz media group and recently issued a statement saying: “The attempts by Turkuaz media, and some other media companies following its lead, to distort facts in order to create the impression of an enmity, struggle or dispute between Mr. President and our group is a plot that is in conflict with the professional codes of ethics.”

No contact

Mr. Ellis told CyprusNewsReport.com that he has been unable to contact anyone at Zaman since late last week, when it was raided by police in a forced takeover. Their server is down and the online version of the paper hasn’t been updated in several day, while editorial policy in the printed version has become obviously pro-government, with a picture of a smiling Erdogan and glowing reports of government projects.

The government’s plot to take over the media has a sinister purpose comments Mr. Ellis:

“The intention is to stifle all dissent ahead of a new election, possibly at the end of May or early June, which is expected to gain the AKP at least 367 seats.”

This is the minimum required to change the constitution.

Now that the media has been almost completely stifled, opposition parties like the HDP or MHP don’t have a chance of increasing their seats in the parliament.

“Neither the HDP or MHP are expected to pass the 10 pct. electoral threshold, which could give the AKP more than 400 seats,” says Mr. Ellis.

Opposition candidates now have no hope of fair exposure in the press during elections, and the ruling AKP party is set to become a type of extreme right-wing oligarchy, if not dictatorship, given that the elections and public perceptions will be completely controlled by one man - Erdogan.

“In Turkey, press freedom has now hit an all-time low thanks to Erdogan,” writes Mr. Ellis in The Independent.

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