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After the allegations of corruption and irregularities in a tender lodged by the Mersin Metropolitan Municipality for an integrated waste facility hit the headline of the local Mersin Haberci newspaper in southern Turkey, the office of the newspaper was attacked yesterday (February 15).
A group of 50 people, including main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Mersin Youth Organization Chair Alkım Sümer, came to the office of the newspaper in Akdeniz district in the afternoon.
Closing the street, the group of mostly young people threw paint on the newspaper, which has been reporting political daily news for 35 years, and its employees. The group then threw eggs at the newspaper office and its workers. The group dispersed without further incidents.
Mersin Haberci Editor-in-Chief Yüksel Ekici and reporter Kadri Duman had their faces and clothes covered in paint as a result of the attack.
The police came to the scene of the incident, examined the scene and talked to the newspaper employees. Examining the nearby surveillance camera footage as well, the police are working to catch the suspects. In response to what happened, today's issue of the Mersin Haberci newspaper was published with the headline "The Day of Shame of the CHP".
'We exercised our democratic right'
Speaking after the incident, CHP Mersin Youth Organization Chair Alkım Sümer has admitted that they carried out the attack.
Releasing a statement on his social media account with the title "Yes, it was us", CHP's Sümer has argued that the newspaper is reporting "fake and slandering news". He has said, "In the face of those who portray the simplest protest of slogans as an attack, a raid on a newspaper, a threat and threaten the ones who exercise their democratic rights based on these perceptions, and in the face of this mentality preparing the ground for this and giving credit to this, we wanted to show a stronger and more clear reaction today and again exercise our democratic right..."
'We would have prevented it'
CHP Mersin Provincial Organization Chair Adil Aktay has said that he did not know about the demonstration: "If we had known about it beforehand, we would have prevented this incident. I did not talk to the related people, I was out at that time. I don't know what to say."
Aktay has said that he is also a lawyer himself and that neither he nor his party would approve of such incidents. He has announced that an inquiry will be launched into the attack on the newspaper.
Ekici: It is against democracy
Newspaper's Editor-in-Chief Yüksel Ekici has made a statement about the attack and underlined that it is against democracy.
Noting that the attack was unworthy of the CHP, Ekici said:
I strongly condemn the ones who led them. What happened to us today happened as an attack on the press. We will press charges. In fact, there is no need to press charges because it has been reported to the public authorities and the authorities are doing what is necessary. There is also a good side to these attacks: This behavior has proven our publication policy right; it has manifested the pursuits of rights and justice of the people who call themselves social democrats.
Eroğlu: They want to intimidate us with pressure
Mersin Haberci Newspaper News Director Hediye Eroğlu has said that their newspaper is a dissident newspaper and that it is not a spokesperson for any political party. She has stated that the CHP wants to put them under pressure. Eroğlu has briefly added:
"They kicked us out of the municipal council before; they did not let us film. They want to intimidate us with pressure. We have reported the incident to the relevant authorities and filed a criminal complaint. We also have pictures and videos of the incident. We gave our statements." (HA/SD)
