‘There are still judges in Berlin’

FATİH ÇEKİRGE

The access denied for the Turkish media to cover the Munich court case where racist murders are to be heard is not such a simple incident.

It has a depth. It has a prefix and a suffix and even a past.

At least, it has created a doubt that goes deep.

The German press is still discussing this deep doubt. They are discussing the reflex Hürriyet gave on the first day: Hürriyet’s asking “Why?” covering a full page. And moreover, when the headline “Turks don’t want it” was written in German, it became a spark.

Many publications, from the largest circulation, daily Bild, to one of the most serious magazines, Der Spiegel, printed Hürriyet’s headline in German on their front pages.

The television channels that are most popular in Germany such as ARD and ZDF had Hürriyet’s front page as their leading news story. They showed it for minutes and discussed it.

Believe me, I’m not writing this to boast. I’m only trying to explain how a media reflex can transform into solidarity.

Besides, this racist gang has committed these actions to instigate an artificial war between Germans and Turks.
 
And that such solidarity has emerged against these racist gang murders prior to such a case is a situation that should not be forgotten.

The court, with this decision it made, has been set up not in the courthouse but in people’s consciences.

Its characteristic is this:

The bilingual life of Turks in Germany has been transformed into solidarity with a media reflex.
 
All political parties except the ultranationalist ones, legal circles and nongovernmental organizations have supported this solidarity.

Well, can we draw a lesson from this?

I’m talking about the process we are undergoing in Turkey.

Against those who want to drag Turks and Kurds into an artificial war…

Isn’t this bilingual solidarity in Germany a good example for our press?

How can this solidarity be defined?

The name of this is the understanding of mutual sensitivities. The name of this is respecting each other. The name of this is looking at the place where the other is standing from the place you are standing with the same sensitivity.

The name of this is prioritizing our most significant value, humanity.

‘There are still judges in Berlin’

If we go back to the court…

Apparently, the decision of the court to deny access to the Turkish media is not a decision that could be covered with only a few headlines and only a few columns.

We are not doing that anyway.

We are keeping the photos of those people killed in our minds as a memory card.

And, lastly, I want to remind you of this story:

I had gone to Germany, Potsdam, to shoot the Talat Pasha documentary for TRT. The conversations might not be exactly like this, but the story comes from that.

“One of Germany’s greatest rulers, Friedrich the Great, was building the Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam. However, there was a mill within the land. For this reason, the construction stopped, because the owner of the mill, a village woman, rejected all offers of money. Finally the king came to talk to the woman.

King: We are going to give you whatever money you want. Why are you still resisting?

Miller: I don’t want to sell it. It has been handed down to me from my ancestors.

King: You see the construction of the palace. It will be built. If you don’t sell it, we will take it from you by force.

Miller: You are the ruler; you may be able to take it, but there are still judges in Berlin.”

Today, those who have visited the Sanssouci palace in Potsdam know it. That mill is still there.

Besides, now it is not producing flour; it is generating the memory of justice in the German tradition.

Fatih Çekirge is a columnist for daily Hürriyet in which this piece was published on April 2. It was translated into English by the Daily News staff.

FATİH ÇEKİRGE - fcekirge@hurriyet.com.tr