A news outlet site, haberimizvar.net published in Antalya, had written on the spread of coronavirus in Turkey. Last night its General Publication Manager İdris Özyol and General Publication Coordinator Ebru Küçükaydın were detained by the police regarding their reporting on the health issues.
It was only last week when the Turkish interior ministry had warned everybody that “unofficial” news about the coronavirus would be monitored in the country.
Turkey is not equipped with widely testing the coronavirus since the health care has been privatized and public health organizations closed down by the government, following the US and pro-capitalist ideologues.
It would be disastrous for Turkey to face the epidemic because most of Turkey’s current income is from tourism.
While all of its bordering countries, especially Iran has been on a lockdown, Turkey miraculously did not report any infected person for a long while. Only after wide ranging outcry did Turkey close its borders with Iran.
However, report after report showed passengers flying out from Turkey showed the symptoms and were infected and thus quarantined in the countries they entered, including the US.
Turkey kept on denying anything was wrong. Not that they tested, just didn’t bother to. Thus, no testing, no infection. Simple solution, right?
Last Tuesday the minister of health openly announced no cases had been detected in Turkey. When that evening IMF and World Bank announced hundreds of millions of dollars was ready for fighting the virus, the Turkish ministry changed its tune and near midnight published a strange announcement that, “Turkey does not have the disease, but that does not mean Turkey does not have the disease, however, it may exist in Turkey also.”
But the threat on the media and social media sharing stayed.
The truth police threat materialized when after a week of arresting or detaining journalists from other ridiculous charges, the Turkish government and its internet police turned to the health issue.
A news outlet site, haberimizvar.net published in Antalya, had written on the spread of coronavirus in Turkey. Last night its General Publication Manager İdris Özyol and General Publication Coordinator Ebru Küçükaydın were detained by the police regarding their reporting on the health issues.
The police raided the homes of the managers at haberimizvar.net and took them to Antalya Security Offices. The news they published reported incidents of coronavirus showing up in the town of Demre.
Sendika.Org News (M.B.)