Two people sitting at the next table and listening on the conversation had an issue with Y.K.’s talk on the phone. They cautioned the journalist not to talk against the government or against the AKP party. The argument continued for a while until other café customers intervened and stopped the confrontation. Soon, however, two cops entered the café, evidently called by the eavesdropping customers.
Recently the Turkish president Erdoğan revealed a plan to build a canal between the Black Sea and the The Sea of Marmora in its south.
It became evident however that the whole project was nothing but to enrich the allied contractors, those building contractors who live with government contracts and support the ruling AKP government in return, with a huge project. Another dimension of the canal is the speculation it creates as the rich local and Arab investors grab the land that will increase in value maybe 15-25 times once the canal is built. The plan to build was only revealed to wealthy Arab sheiks and the connected-ally businessmen to give them opportunity to grab the land before the expected price increases. However, the most benefit will go to the US and NATO as they will now have a canal at their disposal allowing their war ships to enter the Black Sea without any limitations of the Montreux agreement that is in effect today.
The project, as expected, started a fierce debate where millions of Istanbul residents rejected this completely unnecessary endeavor since the two seas are already connected with a natural strait called Bosphorus. This natural waterway is open, free, deep and safe as opposed to the projected new canal.
Having already sold the lands surrounding the proposed canal, no matter how much the people may object, the Turkish government of AKP and MHP coalition does not have any choice but to continue. And this was reflected in the response from Erdoğan himself when finally he declared to put an end to the discussion, “Whether you like it or not, I will build the canal.”
Well, it looks like not everybody got the memo.
Although the opposition mayor of Istanbul openly rejected the boondoggle project and is refusing to contribute to the construction although the project is right smack in Istanbul, his city, the central government is hell bent on starting the construction.
The left, progressive and pro-democracy opposition party HDP became the first to take the canal to the court of law when it applied to cancel the whole project with many valid reasons from ecological disasters the canal would cause to social disturbances.
Yet, the government is having none of that.
In the southern part of Turkey in the city of Muğla, a journalist Y.K. might not have realized how serious the AKP government and its supporters were on the issue. While sitting in a café and talking on his cell phone, Y.K. happened to mention that he was against the building of the canal.
As reported in Birgün and Sözcü papers, the veteran journalist was in a conversation with another reporter about Turkey’s involvement in Libya and Syria. They also mentioned the canal project, and even dared bring up the scary news that the Alevite citizens were having their homes marked by Sunni believers, possible for a future massacre as it was done several times before. The cell phone talk was a private discussion between two reporters.
Two people sitting at the next table and listening on the conversation had an issue with Y.K.’s talk on the phone. They cautioned the journalist not to talk against the government or against the AKP party. The argument continued for a while until other café customers intervened and stopped the confrontation. Soon, however, two cops entered the café, evidently called by the eavesdropping customers.
The police officers immediately detained the reporter and took him to the police station for “insulting the president.”
After being questioned for his “insults” at the police station, Y.K filed for a counter suit against the men who confronted him for insult.
Sendika.Org News (M.B.)