Mick Hartley

The mass resignation of those Turkish generals has at last prompted a response in the Guardian. It's an article by journalist Ergun Babahan from Today's Zaman – and everything's just fine! It's all part of the normalisation of Turkish politics. Nothing to see here. 

A little helpful background information is supplied by this commenter: 

In the past the Guardian has uncritically eulogised the AKP effectively ignoring legitimate concerns. 

For those who don't know, Todays Zaman is to the AKP what Pravda was to the Soviet Communist Party ie nothing more than propaganda.

And there's Babahan's somewhat chilling last paragraph:

Although it is to Turkey's advantage at the moment that some media outlets that would normally use the generals' resignations to attack the government are not openly supporting the military, it would still be a good idea for those who frequently question the state of the freedom of the press in Turkey to also question the structural makeup of the Turkish media. The renewal and transformation of some media organs, which have been known to support coups in the past, will be important for the attainment of true democracy.

When a government mouthpiece suggests what might be a "good idea" for the rest of the media, there's generally a threat in there. It's worth bearing in mind that, according to the International Press Institute, Turkey has more journalists in prison than any other country in the world, including China and Iran. Part of the struggle for the attainment of true democracy, of course.

All par for the course at the UK's leading liberal newspaper.