Pro-government daily fires columnist after she called Turkish deputy PM a ‘crow’

ISTANBUL

A columnist at pro-government Turkish daily Sabah has been fired after she called a deputy prime minister a “crow.”

Sevilay Yükselir, who has been writing a column for Sabah for seven years, declared her support for the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) soon before the June 7 elections, irking supporters of the ruling Justice and Development (AKP) whom she had been supporting for years.

“Reports are true. The management of Sabah newspaper, where I have been writing for seven years, and its broadcaster A Haber has fired me due to my support for the HDP during the election campaign,” Yükselir said in a series of tweets late June 8. “I want all of you to know that I am very happy and in peace. God willing, peace will win. Turkey will win.”

Hours before she was fired, Yükselir had called Deputy Prime Minister Yalçın Akdoğan a “crow” while outlining her arguments about why the AKP lost a significant portion of its popular support in the June 7 elections. 

“The AK Parti should first get rid of the crows. As long as [President Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan and [Prime Minister Ahmet] Davutoğlu follow those well-known crows, failures are inevitable,” she said.

Meanwhile, another Sabah writer has announced that his television program was abruptly ended by the management of private broadcaster Show TV.

“The effects of the election results have started to be seen in the mainstream media. Ciner [media group] ended our program, ‘Hello Today,’ on Show TV,” Melih Altınok, who was known for his pro-government opinions, said in a tweet on June 8.