ANALYSIS A DISCOURSE TURKISH NEWSPAPERS: icare4All
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Bu proje Avrupa Birliği ve
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti
tarafından finanse edilmektedir
THE COVERAGE OF
FTF ATTACKS IN
TURKISH NEWSPAPERS:
A DISCOURSE
ANKARA 2019
ANALYSIS
The coverage of FTF attacks in Turkish newspapers : A discourse analysis REPORT Dr. Caner Özdemir Yusuf Şahin Ankara - TÜRKİYE icare4all © 2019 Bu çalışmaya ait içeriğin telif hakları icare4all’a ait olup, 5846 Sayılı Fikir ve Sanat Eserleri Kanunu uyarınca kaynak gösterilerek kısmen yapılacak makul alıntılar dışında, hiçbir şekilde önceden izin alınmaksızın kullanılamaz, yeniden yayımlanamaz. Bu çalışmada yer alan değerlendirmeler yazarına aittir; icare4all’ın kurumsal görüşünü yansıtmamaktadır. Ortadoğu Araştırmaları Merkezi Adresi : Mustafa Kemal Mah. 2128 Sk. No: 3 Çankaya, ANKARA Telefon: +90 850 888 15 20 Faks: +90 (312) 430 39 48 Email: orsam@orsam.org.tr Tasarım: beyzaerden.com
Table of
Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
8 Attacks and Varying Media Coverages .......................................................................................................................... 5
1. Şanlıurfa Attack on 20.07.2015 ............................................................................................................................... 6
2. Ankara Attack on 10.10.2015 ..................................................................................................................................... 17
3. Sultanahmet Attack on 12.01.2016 ......................................................................................................................... 25
4. İstiklal Street Attack on 19.03.2016 ........................................................................................................................ 35
5. Gaziantep Attack on 01.05.2016 .............................................................................................................................. 45
6. Atatürk Airport Attack on 28.06.2016 ................................................................................................................... 51
7. Gaziantep Attack on 20.08.2016 ............................................................................................................................... 59
8. İstanbul Attack on 01.01.2017 ................................................................................................................................... 66
Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 75
1.1- Messages of unity and solidarity ........................................................................................................................... 75
1.2- Political polarization: blaming the government vs ‘foreign powers’ discourse ................................ 76
1.3- Referential strategies: legionaries of the state or cocktail terror .......................................................... 76
1.4- A discourse that intersects all political sides: conspiracy theorizing ................................................... 77
ENDNOTES ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 79
The coverage of FTF attacks in Turkish newspapers: A discourse analysis
Introduction
Turkey has been a major target for terrorist attacks There is a growing literature on news coverage
driven with various motivations for decades. of terrorist attacks1. Especially after the tragic
Especially after 1970s, terrorist organizations like terror attack of 9/11, the violent extremism of
ASALA, DHKP-C, and PKK carried out deadly radical Islamist groups attracted an increasingly
attacks targeting both civilians and security forces. growing attention. However, using media as a
In order to see how Turkish media approached way of reaching out a broader audience is not a
the issue of terrorism and terrorist attacks in new phenomenon, neither it can be attributed to
particular, therefore, a thorough research would a specific terrorist group. As Hoffmann2 puts it,
contribute to the already modestly rich literature regardless of their political stances, all terrorist
on media and terrorism and how media outlets groups try to reach maximum publicity via
with different ideological approaches cover their attacks. This widely used tactic could both
terrorism-related news. provide the group with new followers and also
Introduction 1
The coverage of FTF attacks in Turkish newspapers: A discourse analysis
help it spread its line of argumentation regarding is that they both feed on publicity, and thus
its “cause”. In this sense, media is a very useful their common goal is to reach out to as much
tool for terrorist propaganda. Cockley3 says people as possible in order to “improve their
that the fear created by terrorist attacks trigger business”. In this sense, recent revolutions in
selfish motivations and cause power to be information and communication technologies,
shifted from deliberative decisions to emotional and thus, in mass media technologies, provided
reactions. This emotional reaction can also ample opportunities for terrorist propaganda.
trigger unproportionate use of force by security Considering these connections between the news
forces which would in turn play into the hands media and terrorism, governments tried to limit
of the very same organization. In this sense, the the appearance of terrorism and terrorist attacks
discourse that the media employ in the aftermath in the media. However, such attempts triggered
of terrorist attacks play a crucial role in shaping discussions about the balance between the
the public attitude, policymakers decisions, and freedom of expression and terrorist propaganda,
also the terror group’s future efforts to broaden its which brings us to the key discussion regarding
audience and reach out to its potential or actual fighting terrorism, namely security vs. liberties..6
supporters.
As Wilkinson puts it, despite terrorism makes use
Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, of the mass media for their own political aims, it
Margaret Thatcher referred to the news does not mean that the media share their values.
coverage as a key goal of terror attacks as ‘the Despite the strong relationship between terrorist
oxygen of publicity’. Despite opposing views propaganda and mass media, the news media are
like the one from Wieviorka4, scholars like also a stage for counter-terrorist propaganda.7
Hoffmann and Wilkinson argued that there However, due to the high emotional value of
is a symbiotic relationship between terrorist terror attacks which would bring more and more
organizations and mass media5. The argument watchers, the news media can hardly refrain from
2
covering related news; how it will cover would terrorist attacks such as failure to respect victims’
depend on various factors, though. Wilkinson families or focusing on tears and sorrow instead
argues that in a fully democratic society, of the story itself i.e. sensationalism may also
responsible coverage has the potential to help serve for the purposes of the terrorist groups. 8 As
fight terrorism for a great deal. He emphasizes noted above, Turkey has a long history of fight
that ‘responsible and accurate’ reporting is key to against terrorism. Similar concerns regarding
communicate with the general public about the the relationship between the news coverage and
struggle against terrorist propaganda and the news the terrorist propaganda were brought forward.
media are not necessarily become an instrument In line with Wilkinson, Avşar9 offers similar
of the terrorist. On the other hand, he tells that solutions for the case of Turkey. He emphasizes
censorship is also harmful to democratic values the need for being cautious in reporting the name
as much as irresponsible coverage. He offers of the attackers and the terrorist group, in order
‘voluntary self-restraint’ of the media outlets as not to provide a fertile ground for any political,
a solution against manipulation and exploitation social or philosophical reasons for violence
by terrorist groups. Here, the risk is, covering and the need for putting ethical values in front
terrorist attacks can both raise awareness and help of commercial interests, which in many cases
the public to support counter-terrorism efforts, hardly works for media companies which are
on the other hand, it can also damage the morale simply firms, unsurprisingly strives for “profit-
of the society and also raise awareness among maximization”. On a similar note, Kazan stresses
the target audience of the terrorist group who the need for using the right discourse in news
can in turn, become supporters both in terms of coverage to avoid terrorist propaganda such as
its ideology and as direct participants of violent positive framing of the attackers or news reports
attacks. Related to this point, Cohen-Almagor that may rise fear and pessimism in the general
rightly argues that unprofessional covering of the public.10
Introduction 3
The coverage of FTF attacks in Turkish newspapers: A discourse analysis 4
8
Attacks
and Varying
Media Coverages
In this section news reports after 8 major terrorist published within the week following the attacks
attacks will be discussed in order to see both will be examined.
divergences and convergences among different
media outlets and to have a general understanding As a qualitative data analysis technique, discourse
of how Turkish media covers terror attacks. These analysis helps investigating discursive strategies
attacks are the ones in Suruç Şanlıurfa on July, on the threats of radicalization and violent
20th 2015; in front of the main train station in extremism in Turkish news outlets. The main
Ankara on October, 10th 2015; in Sultanahmet goal here would be to reveal existing frames of
İstanbul on January, 10th 2016; in İstiklal Street reference regarding FTFs and terrorism in Turkish
İstanbul on March, 16th 2016; in front of police media.
headquarters in Gaziantep on May, 1st 2016; in
İstanbul Atatürk Airport on July, 28th 2016; in While analysing news and articles and examining
a wedding ceremony in Gaziantep on August, variations in the language and choice of words, a
20th 2016; and in a night club on January, 1st long list of newspapers will be examined in order
2017 chronologically. Using discourse analysis to representat diverse political streams in Turkey
as our main methodological tool, hundreds of such as Posta, Yeni Şafak, Habertürk, Türkiye,
news reports and articles on national newspapers Ortadoğu, Hürriyet, and Cumhuriyet.
Şanlıurfa Attack on 20.07.2015 5The coverage of FTF attacks in Turkish newspapers: A discourse analysis
1.
Şanlıurfa Attack
on
20.07.2015
As the first of a series of ISIS attacks, Şanlıurfa/ other newspapers which can be interpreted that
Suruç attack was covered widely by all the photo became a symbol in fact as a sign of
newspapers. On July 21st, all newspapers solidarity against terrorism.
covered the attack on their front page. Despite
the differences in the news text and articles due Posta used the headline “There is bloody-minded
to their political allegiances, almost all of the ISIS in Şanlıurfa!” over the picture and “There
newspapers underlined unity and solidarity in IS NOT Ezgi anymore in this world!” with a
their headlines and sub-headings. Most of the picture of Ezgi Saadet who was killed in the
newspapers used a large picture in their front page attack and more interestingly who had actually
showing the chaos in the aftermath of the attack. sold souvenirs for the resistance of Ayn al-Arab
Posta, which was the bestselling newspaper in (Kobane) during the fight against ISIS. And in the
Turkey in its cover page, used the photo below sub-heading under the headline, Posta says “hand
in which two female victims holding hands, to hand” against terror. Just as many others, pro-
lying on the ground covered in blood just after government Yeni Şafak also said “This attack
the attack. The same frame was used by some targeted Turkey” just over its headline.
6Şanlıurfa Attack on 20.07.2015 7
The coverage of FTF attacks in Turkish newspapers: A discourse analysis
Table 1: Headlines on the Suruç attack
Newspaper Headlines in Turkish Headlines in English
Şanlıurfa’da eli kanlı IŞİD var! Bu “There is bloody-minded ISIS in Şanlıurfa!
Posta
dünyada artık Ezgi yok! There IS NOT Ezgi anymore in this world!”
Yeni Şafak Suruç’ta Vahşet Ferocity in Suruç
Hürriyet Lanetliyoruz We damn it
Cumhuriyet İşte İnsalık. İşte Barbarlık Here is the humanity. Here is the barbarity
Türkiye Naklen katliam Live massacre
Habertürk Birliğimize Saldırı Attack to our unity
Despite the theme of solidarity and unity in the responsible for the attack due to its inability to
headlines, newspapers took different stances take necessary security and intelligence-related
according to their political allegiances in terms measures while pro-government newspapers
of who should be held responsible for the attack. mainly pointed “foreign powers” which inflamed
Since the identity of the attackers are revealed the political and security atmosphere in the
just after the attack, all newspapers defined Middle east and more specifically in Syria of
the incident as an attack of ISIS. However, which reflections are now being experienced by
opposition newspapers held the government the Turkish civilians.
8For example, Posta, which can actually be On the other hand, pro-government newspapers
considered as a mainstream newspaper than implied an international conspiracy against
an oppositional one, targeted the governor of Erdoğan government and Turkey. For instance, in
Şanlıurfa province. Despite, its emotional headline the front page of Türkiye a headline says: “The
and front page coverage which focuses on the aim is to pull Turkey to swamp”, implying that
identities of the victims and how good people the Middle East, in this atmosphere is a quite
they were; at the top of the front page Posta says dangerous region with no concrete possible
“It is people’s turn to say the word: Take him.” benefits to fight for but can only downgrade
implying the governor. In the text, it says that few Turkey’s established position in the system.
days prior to the attack some news reporters asked Another example is from the front page of Yeni
the governor about the existence of ISIS members Şafak on July, 22nd; the newspaper known for
in the region and their preparations for terrorist its highly pro-government stance, the headline
attacks, governor told to police to “take the says “The game for changing the borders gained
reporters” and the news reporters were detained speed”. Quoting a statement from a retired
by the police. A similar and more direct example general of the Turkish Army, the newspaper refers
is from the oppositional newspaper Cumhuriyet. to an imperialist conspiracy to change the borders,
In its front page Cumhuriyet published an editorial referring to foreign powers’ involvement in the
statement outrightly accusing the government region and implying that after Syria, Turkey can
for adopting a soft-handed policy against ISIS well be the next target. In the following days,
in Syria and stated that Turkey is now in a war pro-government newspapers also targeted the
with ISIS, which in fact contractionary in nature. opposition in Turkey as well as international
Similar accusations are told in other oppositional powers. Türkiye newspaper used the title “They
newspapers such as Sözcü, too, widely known as used the opportunity for provocation” when
the most ardent anti-government newspaper for reporting the reactions of oppositional politicians
years. and commentators, blaming them for taking
Şanlıurfa Attack on 20.07.2015 9The coverage of FTF attacks in Turkish newspapers: A discourse analysis
advantage of such an atmosphere for their own in Cumhuriyet14 with a former head of national
political agenda. intelligence agency (MİT) in Turkey claiming
that Turkey acted too late to fight against ISIS.
The issue of FTFs started to be more and Traces of these opposite reporting discourses
more visible in newspapers as the details of the can clearly be seen in the news on the statement
attack revealed. Selected newspapers, again published by CHP, the main opposition party and
unsurprisingly, covered the attack in line with have a symbiotic relationship with Cumhuriyet
their above-mentioned stances. In general, pro- newspaper, after the Suruç attack. Whereas
government newspapers pictured the attackers as oppositional Cumhuriyet15 reported the statement
pawns of international powers while oppositional with the title “CHP: ISIS cells are controlled by
newspapers underlined that Turkey’s policies MİT”, Yeni Şafak16 used the title “According to
enabled these terrorists to move freely. For CHP report, HDP is the criminal”.
example, despite the news about the identities
of the attackers and in spite of the fact that Still, there are reports from both sides
government officials pointed ISIS as the most emphasizing the polarization in the aftermath of
possible suspect; pro-government Yeni Şafak11 the terrorist attacks. A week after the attack, Sabah
emphasized that it is unusual that ISIS had not Pazar17 published an interview with a professor of
claimed responsibility for the attack; and in psychiatry with a title “The antidote of violence is
Türkiye12 it is reported that HDP officials in always mercy”. In the interview, it is underlined
Suruç were aware of the possibility of a terrorist that the reactions in the social media after terror
attack but they had not warned the victims and attacks are shaped according to the identities of
they did not attend the press statement during the victims.
which the attack happened either. On the other
hand, oppositional newspapers covered news that There were police operations throughout Turkey
are implying the soft approach of the Turkish to capture the militants of different groups in the
government to ISIS, as seen in the coverage of week following the Suruç attack. While reporting
Birgün, 13 claiming that ISIS fighters in Syria were these operations newspapers started to go into
treated in hospitals in Turkey or the interview detail about FTFs in and out of Turkey. In these
10news stories the main theme is the ordinary lives serbest bırakıldı. Serbest kaldıktan sonra bir
of these fighters before they joined the terrorist kez daha ortadan kaybolan Özlem Y, Suruç’taki
groups. The story of Özlem Yıldız who was patlamadan 1 gün sonra Antalya’nın Manavgat
arrested just after the Suruç attack was covered in İlçesi’nde yakalandı.”18
many newspapers:
“Özlem Y., one of the 3 female militants
“IŞİD’in canlı bomba eylemi yaptıracağı that are claimed to be used by ISIS for suicide
iddia edilen 3 kadın militandan biri olan attacks was captured just after the Suruç blast.
Özlem Y, Suruç patlamasından hemen sonra It is revealed that Özlem Y., living in Adana
yakalandı. Adana’nın Seyhan İlçesi’nde yaşayan Seyhan, ran away with her lover and married
Özlem Y’nin 2010’da sevgilisiyle evden him in 2010. After her husband, who has several
kaçtığı ve evlendiği öğrenildi. Birden fazla criminal records, went into prison Özlem Y. was
sabıkası olan eşi cezaevine girdikten sonra, claimed to met people with links to ISIS on the
internette IŞİD bağlantılı kişilerle tanıştığı internet and then went to Syria. Özlem Y., mom
belirtilen Özlem Y. daha sonra Suriye’ye gitti. of two, trained in the camps of the group in Syria
Örgütün Suriye kamplarında eğitim alan 2 çocuk and was claimed to asked to take part in suicide
annesi Özlem Y’nin iddiasına göre, kendisinden attacks. Thereupon, she got scared, fled the camp
“canlı bomba” olması istendi. Bunun üzerine and went back to Adana. On June 10, Özlem Y.
korkan Özlem Y, kamptan kaçıp Adana’ya wore a black burka, went to the police station,
geri döndü. 10 Haziran’da kara çarşaf giyip told the police that she was regretful and asked
polis karakoluna giden Özlem Y, yaşadıklarını for help. As a ‘suicide bomber’ Özlem Y. was
anlatıp pişman olduğunu söyleyerek yardım sent to Adana Dr. Ekrem Tok Mental Hospital
istedi. Özlem Y, “canlı bomba” olarak “gözlem” for ‘observation’ and ‘general psychiatric
ve “genel psikiyatri muayenesi” için Adana treatment’. On June 27, Özlem Y. was reported
Dr. Ekrem Tok Ruh ve Sinir Hastalıkları sane and was discharged from the hospital. After
Hastanesi’ne yatırıldı. 27 Haziran’da “Akıl being released Özlem Y. was disappeared once
sağlığı yerinde” raporu verilen Özlem Y. taburcu again and was caught in Manavgat, Antalya one
edildi. Savcılıkta alınan ifadesinin ardından da day after the blast in Suruç”
Şanlıurfa Attack on 20.07.2015 11The coverage of FTF attacks in Turkish newspapers: A discourse analysis
In all similar stories published in the newspapers after Suruç attack, the stories of young fighters start
with a trauma or some sort of broken psychology, mostly due to their families, then they contact with
some new people online or offline, via internet or in a café. After this, following his/her radicalization
and recruitment phases, they go to Syria to fight in the ranks of ISIS or other radical groups and come
back to Turkey to carry out terrorist attacks.
The motivations of FTFs in joining armed groups in Syria and other parts of the world and the
perceptions of the general public towards them are also discussed in op-ed columns after Suruç attack.
We selected 6 columns from several newspapers to analyse.
Table 2: Selected columns on the Suruç attack
Newspaper Column Title English Title Author Date
Kara bela Türkiye’yi Black trouble spreading
Sözcü Saygı Öztürk 21/07/2015
sarıyor over Turkey
Muharrem
Habertürk Diğerleri nerede? Where are the others? 23/07/2015
Sarıkaya
Yerli malı İŞİD’ciler
Deep gaps of security
Hürriyet konusunda derin İsmet Berkan 24/07/2015
about domestic ISISers
güvenlik zaafı
Tamer
Yeni Şafak Aslında nedir? What is it actually? 24/07/2015
Korkmaz
Terörün iletişim Communication
Yeni Şafak Kemal Öztürk 21/07/2015
yöntemleri techniques of terrorism
12One of the earlier articles was from Saygı Öztürk government policies. Second, he emphasizes the
in Sözcü, which is known to be a harsh critique fact that these fighters are seen as heroes by some
regarding government policies: fractions of the public.
“Önce, Irak sının için “kevgire döndü” Muharrem Sarıkaya in Habertürk mentioned
deniliyordu. Buna Suriye sınırımız da eklendi. similar issues. After stating that there are many
Denetimsiz, kontrolsüz birileri giriyor-çıkıyor, young people going in and out of Syria to fight
sınırlarımızı korumakla görevli olanlar da alongside various militant groups, he says:
bu duruma seyirci kalıyor. BU ÜLKENİN
VATANDAŞLARI Sınır ötesine geçen Türk “Döndüklerinde de mahalledeki arkadaşlarına,
vatandaşları da IŞİD ya da PKK için savaşıyorlar. Suriye’de biri Alman, diğeri Rus iki eşlerinin
Cenazeleri ülkemize getirildiğinde de belli olduğunu, iyi para kazandıklarını, kovboyculuk
çevreler onları “şehit” sayıyor.” oynar gibi diledikleri silahı kullandıklarını ve iyi
bir yaşam sürdürdüklerini aktarmışlar. Şikâyetine,
“First, it was told that Iraq border had istihbarat birimlerinden bazı isimlerin yanlarına
been pierced. Then, Syria border was added to gelip “Oğlunuz IŞİD ile ilişkide” demesine karşın
that. Some people go and come without controls gelip gidişleri sürecinde haklarında hiçbir işlem de
without checks and the ones that are responsible yapılmamış.”
for protecting our borders watch it. PEOPLE
OF THIS COUNTRY, Turkish citizens that pass “When they came back from Syria, they
the border to fight for ISIS or PKK. When their told their friends in the neighbourhood that they
corpses are brought back to our country, some had had two wives, one was German and the other
call them ‘martyrs’”. one was Russian, they had earned good amounts
of money, they had used the weapons they like as
In his piece Saygı Öztürk underlines two issues if they were cowboys and they had had a decent
for the threat from FTFs; firstly, the border life. Despite the notifications and some guys from
controls in Turkish-Iraqi and Turkish-Syrian intelligence saying: “Your son is related to ISIS”,
borders are much weaker than it should be and nothing legal has been done about the trips to
the implies in the article that it is the result of Syria.”
Şanlıurfa Attack on 20.07.2015 13The coverage of FTF attacks in Turkish newspapers: A discourse analysis
Like in Öztürk’s article, in Sarıkaya’s article it is Şimdi Türkiye sanki benzer bir durumu Suriye’ye
implied that there was a deliberate recklessness ve Irak’a giden cihatçılar, özellikle de IŞİD’e
against these fighters from officials until Suruç katılanlar konusunda yaşıyor.”
attack. According to his point of view, they could
easily go to Syria to fight and come back with “How many jihadists did go to
stories that appeal other young people in their Afghanistan back then? To Bosnia? To
hometowns. The title of the column (“Where Chechenya? To Iraq? And now to Syria? Not all
are the others?”) is also interesting in this sense. of them but a majority of them went for ‘jihad’.
Sarıkaya mentions that there are many other FTFs Now, it’s like Turkey having the same issue with
fighting for either ISIS or PKK and they might the jihadists going to Syria and Iraq, especially
be posing other threats. Here it is also important the ones joining ISIS.”
to see Sarıkaya’s reference to PKK since it is not
a coincidental timing due to the fact that people Berkan ends his article with a warning that it
from Europe and the US started to join YPG/ would be impossible to deal with ISIS without
PKK’s ranks around that time which would be, in eliminating the lack of intelligence about
time, a growing trend. what he calls “jihadists”. As in Öztürk’s and
Sarıkaya’s articles, Berkan implies that the lack
In another article, İsmet Berkan pointed that the of intelligence is a result of a deliberate policy
Syrian Civil War is not the first example of young and thus showing the weaknesses of state policies
Turkish people fighting in foreign countries or regarding the subject. However, Berkan does not
fighters from other nations come to Turkey to limit it to AKP governments but more generally,
travel to war zones in the neighbouring region. He refers to the state’s longlasting inability to fight
says: the threat effectively.
“Türkiye’den zamanında Afganistan’a kaç On the other hand, in pro-government newspapers,
‘mücahit’ gitti? Bosna’ya? Çeçenistan’a? Irak’a? in almost every op-ed piece the allegations to AKP
Ve şimdi de Suriye’ye? Bu gidenlerin hepsi değil governments for overlooking FTFs are strongly
ama ezici bir çoğunluğu ‘cihat’ için gittiler… criticized and objected. While some authors did
14so by emphasising the government’s established was the first to tell that ‘an ISIS militant loaded
anti-ISIS position for years, some claimed that it the bomb’ at the HDP Diyarbakır rally! What else?
might not be ISIS that made Suruç attack in the Parallel Media was saying the same thing! It was
first instance: Mr. Aydın’s Hürriyet that put the headline ‘The
bomber was from ISIS’ with precision three days
“Seçimden iki gün evvelinde yani 5 Haziran’da on a row! Moreover, Hürriyet used the headline
HDP’nin Diyarbakır mitinginde patlayan ‘It has fingerprints of June 5th” after Suruç! What
bombayı “IŞİD militanının yerleştirdiğini” ısrarla happened in the end? Terrorist D. B. who ran
söyleyenlerin başında HDP geliyordu! Başka? away from PKK and gave in to Gendarmerie
Paralel Medya da ayrı doğrultuda konuşuyordu! confessed that the bomb in the Diyarbakır Rally
Üç gün boyunca, manşetinden kesin bir ifadeyle was loaded by PKK! Therefore, the question ‘Was
“Bombayı koyan IŞİD’çi çıktı” diye yayın PKK behind the Suruç suicide bomb?’ came into
yapan da Aydın Bey’in Hürriyet’i idi! Üstelik minds! It is revealed that HDP and Socialist Youth
Hürriyet, Suruç’un ardından “5 Haziran izleri Associations Federation members did not let the
Var” manşetini de attı! Peki, neticede ne oldu? police to make body search and HDP municipality
PKK’dan kaçarak Jandarmaya teslim olan terörist shut down CCTV that sees the blast scene on
D.B.; Diyarbakır Mitingi’ndeki bombanın PKK purpose!”
tarafından yerleştirildiğini itiraf etti! Haliyle,
akıllara “Suruç canlı bombası, aslında PKK’nın Korkmaz’s hint that it might be PKK not ISIS
işi mi?” sorusu geldi! Suruç’ta canlı bomba that made the Suruç bombing depends on the
saldırısının gerçekleştirildiği kültür merkezinin famous intelligence “rule” that the perpetrator of
önünde polisin arama yapmasına HDP’lilerin ve a terrorist attack is most possibly the one who is
dahi Sosyalist Gençlik Dernekleri Federasyonu the main beneficiary of the consequences of the
mensuplarının izin vermediği; ayrıca olay yerini attack . Since ISIS gains nothing from the attack
gören kameraları HDP’li belediyenin “kasten and rather, it caused the Turkish state to focus on
kapattığı” ortaya çıktı!” the group and step up its fight instead, Korkmaz
Implies his suspicion about the perpetrator of
“Two days before the elections, on June 5th, HDP the attack and he also mentions the possibility
Şanlıurfa Attack on 20.07.2015 15The coverage of FTF attacks in Turkish newspapers: A discourse analysis
of foreign involvement which could aim I looked at first news, first tweets, reactions,
victimization of PKK and providng YPG in Syria accusations, blames, orientations…All of them are
with a justified motivation to advance in Syria blaming the state, AKP, Prime Minister, President.
with the so-called goal of “fighting ISIS”. The ones who found a line from Kobani to Turkey,
followed that path. I guess they will not stop
A similar implication can be found in another Yeni here.”
Şafak article by Kemal Öztürk. After analysing
the communication strategies of ISIS, Öztürk uses Just like Korkmaz, Kemal Öztürk implies PKK,
a similar chain of argumentation and says: though not directly, instead of ISIS could be the
terrorist group behind the Suruç attack.
“Şöyle yapın: Bir terör saldırısından sonra
ilk haberlere, ilk demeçlere, ilk tepkilere Hence, it is possible to classify the discourse for
bakın. Bunlar eğer saldırıyı yapanlarla ilgili predicational and argumentative strategies after
isim veriyorsa, bir yere yönlendiriyorsa, bir Suruç attack. First one is the one in oppositional
tarafı suçluyorsa ve tepki vermeye çağırıyorsa and in some of the mainstream newspapers which
orada art niyet arayın…Suruç saldırısı blames the government for false international
sonrasında ilk yaptığım şey de bu oldu. policies and tolerance towards ISIS. The
İlk haberlere, tvitlere, tepkilere, ithamlara, discourse in the pro-government newspapers as
suçlamalara, yönlendirmelere baktım... hepsi the second one sees Suruç attack as part of an
devleti, hükümeti, AK Parti’yi, Başbakanı, international conspiracy against Erdoğan and
Cumhurbaşkanını suçluyor. Kobani’den Türkiye AKP governments and also objecting the idea that
içine doğru giren bir damar bulan çevreler the perpetrator organization is definitely ISIS.
kimlerse, oradan epey ilerlemiş gözüküyor. Since this line of argumentation evaluates that
Sanırım burada da durmayacaklar.” ISIS gained nothing from the attack whereas it
is a much realistic possibility that it will lose a
“Do that: Look at the first news, first lot due to raising awareness about the need for a
statements, first reactions after a terror attack. If more direct and effective fight against the group,
they give names of the attackers, if they orient to it also criticizes this simplified process of naming
somewhere, blame a side and call for reaction, the group, but focuses on the possibility of other
then look for malicious intensions there… This actors carrying out or facilitating the attack with
was what I have done just after the Suruç attack. various motivations and actually gain from it.
162.
Ankara Attack
on
10.10.2015
The terrorist attack in Ankara on October 10th, After the details of the incident, Habertürk pointed
2015 was one of the deadliest attacks in the that one of the attackers might be the elder brother
history of Turkey. The day after the attack, all of the attacker in Suruç. Despite similar headlines
the newspapers covered the incident widely in different newspapers, one of the main dividing
with a strong condemnation and defined it as an line of their coverage is their predictions of the
attack against peace and fraternity. However, the terrorist group responsible for the attack.
polarization based on varying political stances
were again reflected in these coverages. On the For example, Yeni Şafak, which is known with
front pages, all papers used shocking and touching its pro-government line, used a similar image
images from the blast scene. One of the most and used the headline “Our anger and sorrow are
common images was the one in which a father and both great”. Nevertheless, in a smaller title the
his daughter both covered in blood and hugging paper says “MLKP, ISIS, PKK and DHKP-C”
each other just after the attack. This image later as potential suspects. In the following days pro-
became one of the symbols of the series of government newspapers continued to use this
terrorist attacks in Turkey. framing which actually approaches these different
manifestations of terrorism as orchestrated by
Habertürk used the headline “Villains” by this particular actors. This issue is examined in detail
image covering almost half of the front page. below.
Ankara Attack on 10.10.2015 17The coverage of FTF attacks in Turkish newspapers: A discourse analysis 18
Table 3: Headlines on the Ankara attack
Newspaper Headlines in Turkish Headlines in English
Habertürk Alçaklar Villains
Yeni Şafak Acımız da öfkemiz de büyük Our anger and sorrow are both great
Hürriyet Kalbimize bomba Bomb to our heart
Milliyet Alçaklar Villains
Posta Katil kim? Who is the killer?
Cumhuriyet Barış için yastayız We are mourning for peace
Ortadoğu Terör Başkent’e indi Terror has come down to the capital
Like in Suruç attack, some of the mainstream previous attacks in remote cities of the country
newspapers and oppositional newspapers blamed and it resulted in a bigger attack in the capital city.
the government. Posta and Ortadoğu are two
examples of these. Under the headline “Who On the other hand, pro-government newspapers
is the killer?” Posta said that if the necessary unearthed the foreign powers discourse after
steps had been taken after Suruç and Diyarbakır the attack in line with then Prime Minister
attacks, the incident would not have happened. Ahmet Davutoğlu’s comments. They all implied
The paper underlined the lack of security and that various groups with the common goal of
intelligence measures. On the other hand, right damaging Turkey could be behind the attack. For
wing oppositional newspaper Ortadoğu used the example, with a small title “Potential suspects”
headline: “Terror has come down to the capital” in its front page Türkiye lists three other groups
implying that the government neglected the along with ISIS just like Yeni Şafak.
Ankara Attack on 10.10.2015 19The coverage of FTF attacks in Turkish newspapers: A discourse analysis
The divide between pro-government and in the following days. Firstly, they reported
oppositional newspapers gradually disappeared government officials’ claims about involvement
in the following days with the revelation of of several different terrorist groups in the
new information related to the attack. In fact, Ankara blast as a weakness itself. For example,
two days after the attack almost all newspapers right-wing oppositional Ortadoğu used the
agreed on ISIS as the only organization behind headline “They sink as they talk” with a picture
the Ankara attack including pro-government of the President and the Prime Minister”
newspapers. For example, Türkiye used the on its front page 5 days after the incident.
headline “Bombers are from ISIS” in its front Similarly, left-wing oppositional Cumhuriyet
page on its October, 12th issue. Similarly, on used the title “6 goofs in 6 days from the Prime
the same day Yeni Şafak told its readers it was Minister”. Both mocked the statements on the
highly probable that the attackers were ISIS possibility of more than one terrorist groups
members in their news about the identities of which are also following clashing agendas
the attackers. However, after three days and especially in Syria organizing the Ankara
several statements from the Prime Minister attack.
and other ministers that there might be other
terrorist groups that involved in the attack, both Second, oppositional newspapers even used a
Yeni Şafak and Türkiye used headlines pointing rhetoric that points the government as being
an tacit alliance between ISIS and PKK. On its highly incapable of preventing the attack even
October, 15th issue Yeni Şafak used the headline though had some intelligence beforehand. On
“ISIS-PKK partnership”, Türkiye said “PKK October, 12th Cumhuriyet used the headline:
gave the sign, ISIS hit” on its front page. “Bomb exploded, policemen watched it” on
its front page. 5 days after the incident, under
On the other hand, oppositional newspapers the headline “What an oddness is this?”, Posta
levelled up their criticisms against government claimed that bombers had been sought as
20suicide bombers but could not be captured. bütün dosyalar kapatılır ve o saldırılar
Cumhuriyet used the same arguments on its aydınlanmaz. Çünkü hepsi örgütleri aşan
issue on the same day and stated that “The state mesajlardır, kapsamlı projelerin parçasıdır…
watched while ISIS was organizing in Turkey Türkiye ne zaman Suriye’de bir adım atsa,
and the government paved the way for it”. The PYD’nin siyasi, YPG’nin askeri hesaplarına
number of such allegations by the oppositional darbe vursa, içeride “IŞİD görüntüsü altında
newspapers increased during following days terör saldırıları” gerçekleşiyor. Ankara’daki
and weeks. saldırıdan muhtemelen IŞİD çıkacak. Ama bu,
benim gibileri hiçbir şekilde tatmin etmeyecek.
This disagreement about the perpetrators Türkiye’ye, “Suriye’den elini çek” diyenler
and instigators of the attack are even more kimler olabilir sizce?”
visible the in op-ed pieces in those papers.
On the pro-government side there are similar “Now all the complex and dark
arguments as in the aftermath of the Suruç scenarios are covered by saying: ‘ISIS hit’.
attack, such as foreign involvement and an Don’t forget, when they say ISIS all the files are
overarching anti-Turkey strategy implied by closed and these attacks cannot be enlightened.
various terrorist groups, be it PKK or ISIS, Because, these are the messages that are way
which are occasionally orchestrated by a single beyond terrorist organizations and part of
center.. İbrahim Karagül, chief editor of pro- great projects… Whenever Turkey take a step in
government Yeni Şafak, in his article two days Syria and hit PYD’s political plans and YPG’s
after the Ankara bombing says: military plans ‘terrorist attacks in the name of
ISIS’ occurs. Probably ISIS will come out of the
“Şimdi de karmaşık, karanlık Ankara attack. However, this will not satisfy the
senaryoların hepsinin üstü “IŞİD vurdu” ones like me in any sense. Who can be the ones
denilerek kapatılıyor. Unutmayın, IŞİD denilen to tell Turkey: ‘Get your hands off Syria?’”.
Ankara Attack on 10.10.2015 21The coverage of FTF attacks in Turkish newspapers: A discourse analysis
Table 4: Selected columns on the Ankara attack
Newspaper Column Title English Title Author Date
Bize “Suriye’den elini They tell us: “Get your
Yeni Şafak İbrahim Karagül 12/10/2015
çek” diyorlar hands off Syria”
Yeni Şafak Terör partisi, sırıtıyor Terror party, smirking Tamer Korkmaz 13/10/2015
News reporting ban
Muhalefete yayın
on opposition, news
Hürriyet yasağı, iktidara yayın Ertuğrul Özkök 16/10/2015
reporting compulsion
mecburiyeti
on government
Madrid, Ankara, Madrid, Ankara,
Cüneyt
Birgün İstanbul: 10’ar yıl Istanbul: 3 bombings on 17/10/2015
Cebenoyan
arayla 3 bombalama 10 year periods
Bu, sizin eseriniz This is your creation,
Milliyet Mehmet Y. Yılmaz 17/10/2015
Ahmet Bey Mr. Ahmet
Even though Karagül accepts the fact that the attackers might be ISIS fighters, he implies that pointing
ISIS fighters, pointing ISIS as the main actor would only help distracting the attention away from
‘the foreign powers’ who would like to divide Turkey or to keep Turkey out of Syria,. The next day,
in another article Tamer Korkmaz points HDP as the coordinator of the bombings and in the title,
he names HDP as the “Terror Party”. Korkmaz utilizes the “who benefits the most from this attack?
“question once again:
22“Hepimizi can evinden vuran terör saldırısının citizens who lost their lives in the terror attack
ardından olay yerine gidip karanfil bırakan executed by suicide bomb into VOTE is literally
HDP heyetinin “neşeli” tavırları neyin nesidir? ‘smirking’.”
Bir yandan “Yoldaşlarımızı kaybettik” diyerek
üzüntüsünü beyan eden Demirtaş’ın aynı In return, in oppositional newspaper columns and
meydanda tebessüm eden yüzüyle dolaşması “Bu, even in some mainstream newspaper columns this
neyin sevincidir?” diye sordurttu! Sırrı Süreyya argumentation by Karagül, Korkmaz, many others
Önder, Figen Yüksekdağ ve Ertuğrul Kürkçü’nün and government officials are framed as the efforts
gülücüklerini de sualimize ekleyelim. Bu milli to whitewash government policies. For example,
yas gününde “mutluluk” pozlarının sebebi “En Ertuğrul Özkök, says that the news ban on the
az yüzde iki oy ceptedir!” düşüncesi midir? Ankara bombing is aimed to avoid identifying
Canlı bomba eliyle icra edilen terör saldırısında ISIS as responsible until upcoming general
hayatını kaybeden 97 masum vatandaşımızın elections:
kanlarını OY’a tahvil etme çabası/süfliliği
kelimenin tam manasıyla “sırıtıyor!” ““Katliamda PKK parmağı var” demek serbest...
“Katliamda DAEŞ-PKK ortaklığı” demek
“What is this all about the ‘joyful’ serbest. “Katliamda yabancı devlet parmağı”
manners of HDP board leaving cloves to the blast demek serbest. Bir de şu var: Bombayı taşıyan,
scene, after the terror attack that hit hearts of meydana getiren, orada patlatan kişileri polis
all of us? On the hand hand Demirtaş expressed çok iyi biliyor. Elinde kesin deliller var. Ama,
his sorrow saying ‘We lost our comrades’, on the “Katliamı yapan iki bombacı yine Adıyaman’daki
other hand he roamed the scene with a smile on o IŞİD hücresi’ çıktı” demek yasak... Benim
his face. It made us ask ‘What is this joy about?’! anlamadığım şu: Muhalif medyaya yayın
Let’s add the smiles of Sırrı Süreyya Önder, Figen yasakları, iktidar medyasına ise yayın mecburiyeti
Yüksekdağ and Ertuğrul Kürkçü to our question. mi var... CÜMLE ŞU: Başbakan diyor ki, “Ankara
Does it mean that those happy poses are about bomba soruşturması, bütün ilişkileri ortaya
‘At least two percent vote is on the pocket’ idea? çıkıncaya kadar derinleştirilerek devam edecek.”?
The efforts to convert the bloods of 97 innocent GERÇEK ANLAMI ŞU: 1 Kasımda seçim
Ankara Attack on 10.10.2015 23The coverage of FTF attacks in Turkish newspapers: A discourse analysis
sandıkları kapanıncaya kadar “Bunu IŞİD yaptı Gündüz Suriye’ye gidip savaşan, akşam olunca
demeyeceğiz”.” Türkiye’de kiraladığı eve geri dönenlere siz
müsamaha ettiniz. Yaralanan cihatçı eylemcilerin
“It is free to say ‘PKK is involved in the tedavilerini Türkiye’de siz yaptınız. Siviller
massacre’…It is free to say ‘Daesh-PKK için yapılan göçmen kampının bir askeri üsse
partnership in the massacre’. ‘Foreign state dönüşmesine siz göz yumdunuz. ÖSO’ya yardım
involvement in the massacre’ is free. One ediyoruz diye gönderdiklerinizin ne kadarı
additional thing though: The one who carried El Nusra’nın, IŞİD’in eline geçti onu da siz
the bomb, took to the square, blasted it are well biliyorsunuz. Bu ortamın yaratılmasından
known by the police. They have solid proofs. birinci derecede sorumlusunuz ve şimdi yayın
However, it is forbidden to say that ‘The attackers yasaklarıyla bunun konuşulmasını engellemek
of the massacre are once again from the ISIS istiyorsunuz.”
cell in Adıyaman’… This is what I don’t get: Is
there a news ban on the oppositional media and “According to Prime Minister Ahmet
news obligation for government media… THIS Davutoğlu, these bombers are members of PKK
IS THE SENTENCE: Prime Minister says, ‘The and ISIS co-organization. How can this happen,
investigation of Ankara bomb will continue until two groups that are killing each other at the
all the connections are revealed.’? THE REAL other side of the border can organize a bombing
MEANING: Until the end of voting on November, attack? In fact, there is not such a thing, Prime
1st we won’t say ‘ISIS did this’” Minister is trying to lull the people, that’s all…
You tolerated the ones who go and fight in Syria
Similarly, in his Milliyet article, Mehmet Y. in the daytime and come back to Turkey to his
Yılmaz made these accusations more clearly: rented house in the night time. You treated in
Turkey the wounded jihadist militants. You
“Başbakan Ahmet Davutoğlu’na bakılırsa bu overlooked the aid camps for civilians to be
bombacılar PKK ve IŞİD’in ortak operasyonunun converted into a military camp. You know how
elemanları. Nasıl oluyor da oluyor, sınırın öbür much of the things you sent as an aid to Free
tarafında birbirlerinin gırtlağına sarılmış iki Syrian Army ended in the hands of Al-Nusra or
örgüt, sınırın bu tarafında ortaklaşa bombalama ISIS. You are primarily responsible for creating
eylemi yapabiliyor? Böyle bir şey yok aslında, this and you try to stop it being talked about
Başbakan halkı uyutmaya çalışıyor, hepsi bu… through news bans.”
243.
Sultanahmet Attack
on
12.01.2016
The suicide attack targeting tourists in newspapers. Second, most of the pro-government
Sultanahmet was covered a bit differently than newspapers identified the attackers as ISIS
the bombings in Şanlıurfa and Ankara. First members without any hesitation. Third, instead
of all, most probably due to relatively smaller of using emotional and touching headlines and
number of casualties, despite being included in images oppositional newspapers used headlines
the headlines, the news on the attack was given directly targeting the government even in the day
alongside other news on the front pages of many after the attack.
Sultanahmet Attack on 12.01.2016 25The coverage of FTF attacks in Turkish newspapers: A discourse analysis
Table 5: Headlines on the Sultanahmet attack
Newspaper Headlines in Turkish Headlines in English
Sözcü Ambulans gelmeden yayın yasağı geldi News ban came before the ambulance
Vatan Yine IŞİD ISIS again
Yeni Şafak Hainler Villains
Ortadoğu Ağlamadığımız gün yok There is no single day we didn’t cry
Cumhuriyet Katliam ülkesi Country of massacre
Sabah Hedefleri Türkiye Their target is Turkey
Star Fail belli The perpetrator is obvious
In the front pages of the newspapers, the number into German tourist group and exploded himself;
of blast scene images or images of the victims 10 is dead, 15 is wounded. The attack brought
were less frequent after the Sultanahmet attack. the threats of Russia, that allied with Assad and
Some of them only used distance shots of Iran that supported (terrorist) organizations, into
Sultanahmet district or the Blue Mosque. In minds.”. Instead of just saying foreign powers as a
general, the agitative elements in the coverage general discourse, this time Star named countries
of the attack were less frequent even in the and their leaders as the minds behind the attack.
day after the attack. Building on recent attacks Other pro-government newspapers used similar
mentioned above, newspapers used more direct argumentation though not as direct as Star. Sabah
discourse starting from the first day. For example, used the headline “Their target is Turkey”. Just
pro-government Star used the headline “The under its headline “Villains”, Yeni Şafak included
perpetrator is obvious”. Just by the headline a title “20 bombers of Assad are in Turkey”.
there are portraits of three presidents: Vladimir The text below this title gives information about
Putin, Hassan Rouhani and Bassar Al-Assad. The the suicide bombers trained in Syrian camps
rhetoric on ‘foreign powers’ is used directly by and penetrated into Turkey implying that the
pro-government Star. Just under the headline, the Sultanahmet attack might be related to these
newspaper says: “Daesh terrorist from Syria got groups.
26Sultanahmet Attack on 12.01.2016 27
The coverage of FTF attacks in Turkish newspapers: A discourse analysis
Another difference in the coverage of the attack in attack in their headlines again as it was the case
pro-government newspapers is that they identified in previous attacks. In previous attacks, these
the attacker as an ISIS member. Despite the fact newspapers used a language that is emphasizing
that the security forces gave the information about unity and solidarity at least in their headlines
Sultanahmet bomber just after the explosion; and front-page coverages even though an anti-
as mentioned above after Ankara attack these government rhetoric was also adopted. However,
newspapers abstained from identifying the after the Sultanahmet attack newspapers which
attacker as an ISIS member after which the name are pro-opposition and anti-government with
of the bombers were released, too. This might be varying degrees directly accused the government.
related to harsh criticisms to the government and For example, left-wing Kemalist Sözcü used the
pro-government newspapers for adopting a soft headline: “News ban came before the ambulance”
approach against ISIS; and due to the beginning in reference to the immediate news bans after
operations targeting ISIS, and tougher policies terrorist attacks and criticized the government
against FTFs by the government in the meantime. for censorship. “There is no single day we didn’t
Another difference in this sense is the wording of cry” the headline used by nationalist and pro-
the terrorist group. Following his visit to France MHP Ortadoğu followed by the sub-title: “49 %
after ISIS attacks there, president Erdoğan started vote given to AKP returned to the people as price
using the term Daesh instead of ISIS not to relate increases, cruelty, taxes, terror, blood, tears and
the word Islam to the terrorist group, most of the death”.
pro-government newspapers started naming the
group as Daesh. This attack was a major critical Oppositional newspapers continued their
juncture, too, in terms of raising awareness about criticisms in the week following the Sultanahmet
the FTF phenomenon and the threat it poses to the attack mostly via news about the details of
domestic security of Turkey. the attacker. As a Saudi born Syrian citizen,
Sultanahmet attacker was said to be an asylum
On the other hand, oppositional newspapers seeker in Turkey. The oppositional papers
started blaming the government just after the underlined the fact that he was registered
28in Turkish institutions. On January, 14th the unproportionate use, torture and violating human
headline of Birgün was: “Our suicide bomber’s rights upon people’s process of radicalization and
wellbeing is good”. The newspaper documented their journey towards terrorism.
the registration of the bomber in social security
institutions. The implication in this report was that A different tone in the coverage of the news
the state failed in intelligence despite the attacker about FTFs can also be observed in pro-
was a registered man. government newspapers in the aftermath of the
Sultanahmet attack. As mentioned above, unlike
As a major difference from earlier attacks, after previous incidents, these papers pointed ISIS as
the Sultanahmet attack there were more reports the terror group behind the attack and gave more
about the Sultanahmet attacker as a FTF from details about the terrorist group and the attacker
both sides, which contributed to raising awareness this time. As was the case in the previous
among people regarding FTFs with which attacks, most of them also kept their discourse
most people were not familiar. In mainstream about the foreign powers behind due to the fact
newspapers there were two common themes that this spill-over effect from Syria is a direct
while reporting about the attacker. Describing consequence of deepening foreign involvement
the background story of the bomber, firstly the in the country and ensued intensified civil war.
newspapers referred to his complex identity For example, Yeni Şafak published a report about
such as different birthplace and country of FTFs trained by Syrian intelligence in which it
origin, parents from different ethnicities or was claimed that Syrian “Al-Muhabarat” trained
serious psychological problems. Second, the leftist terrorists for suicide attacks from different
effects of the Syrian war on the Sultanahmet countries and they penetrated into Turkey for
bomber in particular and on FTF in general were future attacks as a revenge-oriented attack
emphasized. For instance, on its issue dated against Turkey which supported oppositional
January, 14th, Habertürk claimed that the bomber groups and democratic demands for reform in
had been tortured by the Assad regime and then the country since the beginning of anti-Assad
joined ISIS which also underlines the impact of demonstrations.
Sultanahmet Attack on 12.01.2016 29You can also read
