Oral Çalışlar (born 14 December 1946, Tarsus) is a Turkish journalist and writer, currently columnist for ''

Radikal ''Radikal'' () was a daily liberal Turkish language newspaper, published in Istanbul. From 1996 it was published by Aydın Doğan's Doğan Media Group. Although Radikal did not endorse a particular political alignment, it was generally considered ...

'' and '' Serbestiyet'', after briefly working as editor-in-chief of ''

Taraf ''Taraf'' ("Side" in Turkish) was a liberal newspaper in Turkey. It had distinguished itself by opposing interference by the Turkish military in the country's social and political affairs. It was distributed nationwide, and had been in circulati ...

''. He was previously a columnist for ''

Cumhuriyet ''Cumhuriyet'' (; English: " Republic") is the oldest up-market Turkish daily newspaper. It has been described as "the most important independent public interest newspaper in contemporary Turkey". The newspaper was awarded the ''Freedom of Pr ...

'' (1992–2008) and ''

'' (2008–2013). Today's Zaman, 15 January 2013
Çalışlar becomes Taraf's new editor-in-chief
/ref> In the 1960s he participated in the student movement and contributed to '' Aydınlık.'' He was imprisoned for three years after the

1971 Turkish coup d'état The 1971 Turkish military memorandum ( tr, 12 Mart Muhtırası), issued on 12 March that year, was the second military intervention to take place in the Republic of Turkey, coming 11 years after its 1960 predecessor. It is known as the "coup by m ...

. He became editor of newly re-established '' Aydınlık'' in 1978 and was imprisoned again after the 1980 Turkish coup d'état. As a benefactor of an amnesty, he was eventually released in 1988. From 1990 and 1992 he settled in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, following an invitation by the cities senate. In 1993 he interviewed two personalities of the Kurdish left-wing politics, Abdullah Öcalan, the founder of the

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of sout ...

(PKK) and

Kemal Burkay Kemal Burkay (1937, Kizilkale, Mazgirt, Tunceli) is a writer and politician. Biography He attended his primary education in Tunceli and graduated from Ankara University, Law School in 1960. Political career In 1965 he joined the ''Türki ...

the chairman of the Socialist Party of Kurdistan for eighteen days. The publications of the interviews later within a book about the Kurdish question in 1993, led to his conviction for two years for separatist propaganda, a verdict he appealed. After several trials concerning the book, he was sentenced for 13 months imprisonment on grounds that he disseminated separatist propaganda. Also this verdict he also appealed. Both, the

Turkish Industry and Business Association TÜSİAD, the Turkish Industry and Business Association ( tr, Türk Sanayicileri ve İş İnsanları Derneği), is Turkey's top business organization. Founded in 1971, TÜSİAD is a voluntary, independent, non-governmental organization dedicated ...

(TUSIAD) as well as the

Committee to protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journ ...

(CPJ) made an opposing statement to Çalışlar being sentenced. Later he was an activist in defense of the freedom of expression. He is the author of around 20 books.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calislar, Oral 1946 births Living people Turkish journalists Turkish writers People from Tarsus, Mersin Imprisoned journalists Cumhuriyet people Radikal (newspaper) people Taraf people