The program also discussed Meydan newspaper and its headlines, using them as a reference point for what remained of Turkey’s independent or opposition media after the coup attempt and the government crackdown that followed.
Another topic was Erdoğan’s statement that “there are those trying to turn forest areas into concrete,” a remark the program placed within broader debates over construction, environmental destruction and the government’s development policies.
The episode also addressed comments by AKP Deputy Chair Leyla Şahin Usta, who said critics of Turkey’s human rights record “cannot even bring up two incidents” when speaking of rights violations.
Aytav and Kenez discussed that claim against the backdrop of mass dismissals, arrests, media closures and post-coup prosecutions that affected journalists, civil servants, academics, judges, prosecutors, police officers and military personnel.
The program also referred to Merve Kavakçı’s perceived lack of loyalty toward journalist Nazlı Ilıcak, who had supported Kavakçı during her own political struggle in the late 1990s but was later imprisoned after the coup attempt.
The video below presents the discussion with Levent Kenez on the post-July 15 media landscape, government rhetoric and political controversies in Turkey.
