Özgür Ülke was a Turkish newspaper established on the 28 April 1994, following the shut down of

Özgür Gündem ''Özgür Gündem'' ( Turkish for "Free Agenda") was an Istanbul-based daily Turkish language newspaper, mainly read by Kurds. Launched in May 1992, the newspaper was known for its extensive reporting on the Kurdish-Turkish conflict, and was reg ...

and other newspapers which reported on the Kurdish Turkish conflict by the

Turkish government The Government of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Hükûmeti) is the national government of Turkey. It is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative democracy and a constitutional republic within a pluriform multi-party ...

. It was closed down on the 2 February 1995, and 220 of its 247 issues were confiscated.

History

Three offices of the newspaper, two in Istanbul and one in Ankara, were simultaneously bombed on the 3 December 1994. As a result, one person died and 23 others were wounded by the explosions. The next day the paper was published with the title "This fire could burn you, too" on the front-page. The Turkish authorities didn't charge anyone for the bombings, but arrested the wounded at their release from hospital. Following a solidarity campaign was launched by the Turkish public society. After about two weeks time, Özgür Ülke released an article containing a document signed by

Tansu Çiller Tansu Çiller (; born 24 May 1946) is a Turkish academic, economist and politician who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Turkey from 1993 to 1996. She is Turkey's first and only female prime minister to date. As the leader of the True Path P ...

, in which was ordered to take measures to silence the media which was deemed a threat for the integrity of the state, specifically singling out Özgür Ülke.

Yıldırım Aktuna Yıldırım Aktuna (1930 – September 29, 2007) was a Turkish psychiatrist, politician, district mayor and government minister in a number of cabinets. Early years He was born 1930 in Istanbul. After completing the high school in Karşıyak ...

, a spokesperson of the Government of

Tansu ÇIller Tansu Çiller (; born 24 May 1946) is a Turkish academic, economist and politician who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Turkey from 1993 to 1996. She is Turkey's first and only female prime minister to date. As the leader of the True Path P ...

, declared that the authorities suspect that the newspaper bombed itself, in order to put the Turkish government into a difficult position. It was shut down on 2 February 1995 on grounds that it represented a continuation of the defunct and prohibited Özgür Gündem.

References

{{Authority control Freedom of speech in Asia 1994 establishments in Turkey 1995 disestablishments in Turkey