Turkish government indirectly slams Cumhuriyet for publishing Charlie Hebdo cartoon

ANKARA

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A senior government official has indirectly slammed Turkish daily Cumhuriyet’s decision to publish the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo’s cover cartoon, describing the move an “open provocation.”

“Those who publish some images in reference to our sublime prophet and thus disregard Muslims’ sacred [feelings] are involved in open provocation and agitation,” Deputy Prime Minister Yalçın Akdoğan said via his Twitter account on Jan. 14.

Akdoğan did not openly mention Cumhuriyet by name, but he was obviously referring to it, as the daily is the only Turkish print publication that has published a selection of Charlie Hebdo’s special edition, with two of its columnists reprinting its cover depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

“We curse attacks, affronts and provocations against Muslims and Islamic symbols in the same way we have condemned Paris’ attacks,” Akdoğan said.

“Manifesting one’s hate toward the people’s values in the form of arts or the press does not change the nature of the attack,” he added. 

Meanwhile, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu called Cumhuriyet editor-in-chief Utku Çakırözer to express his solidarity with the newspaper and his sorrow over the threats posed against it. In a written statement issued by the CHP, Kılıçdaroğlu also condemned a police raid on the trucks distributing Cumhuriyet in the early hours of Jan. 14.