Doğan ‘laments all kinds of terrorism’

ISTANBUL - Doğan News Agency

The Doğan Publishing Principles Committee, which gathered for a meeting under Doğan Holding Honorary Chairman Aydın Doğan in Istanbul on Feb. 4, has reiterated its strong stance against terrorism. 

“We have lamented all kinds of terrorism, especially the terrorism by the PKK [the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party] and ISIL [the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant], and we lament it again,” said Doğan while addressing the meeting, which was also attended by board members, executives and other representatives of media companies within the Doğan group. 

“We have always stood by our state in the struggle against terrorism and we will [continue to] do so. No democratic country would allow terrorism or tolerate it. No one can demand rights with guns, bombs, ditches or barricades. Our stance against terrorism is clear,” he said. 

Another point the group was sensitive about was organizations within the state, Doğan said. 

“No state would allow special structures that do not get their authority and duty from the constitution or laws. The struggle against such structures and throwing them out of the body is legitimate. We stand by the state in this struggle. But such a righteous struggle should be within the law,” he said.

The group also stood with the state in its foreign policy in terms of national interests, Doğan said. “For example, during the crisis with Russia we took a stance by Turkey’s righteous position with no hesitation and we will keep doing so,” he said. 

Despite a clear stance in these three fields, some publications continued to campaign against Doğan companies with lies, slander and distortion, Doğan said. 

“They can exist in the short-term due to a conjuncture but they are doomed to be thrown out and erased,” he said. 

At the start of the meeting, Doğan shared the results of a recent study on public approval of the publication policies of media outlets in Turkey. 

“A study supported by the U.S.-based think tank German Marshall Fund placed two of our media organs, [daily] newspapers Hürriyet and Posta, on the top of the lists in two categories,” he said. 

Hürriyet was the top newspaper as a source for news, according to the first list, followed by Posta. 

“This means that our people say ‘Hürriyet’ and ‘Posta’ when asked about where they access news,” Doğan said. 

A second list was about the newspaper readerships of political party supporters. 

“In this category, Hürriyet and Posta are the two most read papers by the supporters of all four political parties [in parliament],” Doğan said. 

“Our two newspapers lead others in terms of impartiality. These results point to exactly where we want to stand. They are very important in these terms,” he said.

“We will continue this publishing policy studiously.”