Military operations and media

The supportive reaction of the Turkish President's Spokesman in response to the next attack of the Armenian separatists on Azerbaijani lands on September 27 at 5 o'clock in the morning led the media to join the process.

In fact, this process was launched on July 13: The joint military exercise, which took place 20 days after the Turkish leadership's sharp reaction to the Armenian attack on Tovuz, and the visit of Defense Minister, General Hulusi Akar to Azerbaijan with the Chief of General Staff and Commanders of the Armed Forces indicated the preparation of irreversible plans.

Following the “Operation Peace” organized in July 1974 to fulfill its patronage rights on the island of Cyprus, Turkey conducted systematic operations several times a year in the mid-1990s to strike at the terrorist organization's presence in northern Iraq.

Military operations against the structures of the terrorist organization in the north-eastern regions of Syria in August 2016 and January-March 2018 with the permission of Russia was later continued in the north-eastern part of Syria, and the army's special forces in Kayseri gained extensive experience in these operations.

The support given by high-ranking officials, especially President Erdoğan, to the operation of Azerbaijan to rid its territories of occupiers, separatists, and genocide perpetrators was, in fact, a signal to the media.

Although the statement by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu that they will support military operations "both on the battlefield and behind the table", by visiting the Azerbaijani embassy in Ankara, is reminiscent of the tactics of communicating all the operations I mentioned a while ago to the world community. It reminded me of the words, "Let's get through the island of Cyprus and pour the Greeks into the sea," said by Necmettin Erbakan, chairman of the National Salvation Party, who was deputy prime minister in the coalition government during “Operation Peace” in 1974. Although the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey said these words, which everyone considered a joke, seriously, I remembered him and his words with a smile.

The counterattack, which began on September 27, was a good test of knowledge for the Turkish media. The commentator's inflation, which we witnessed on TV during the Turkish army's military operations, came up again in the Azerbaijani army's Karabakh operation. Everyone, whether they had knowledge of it or not, suddenly became a "commentator on Karabakh". Many columnists, whether they had knowledge of it or not, took it upon themselves to write as "specialists on Karabakh". When the news correspondents sent to Baku participated in the live broadcasts from the front lines with helmets on their heads, they did not even notice that the citizens were moving at a distance of 3 meters without getting into a flap. And ... a significant part of those connected to the channels from Baku were not ashamed to use the war for "lubrication" purposes.

The military operation, which began on September 27, showed that more than 90% of the Turkish press, TV "astrologers", correspondents, and commentators were unaware of both Azerbaijan and Karabakh.

This is directly related to the minimization of the scope of free media in the country. The most instructive example of this is the September 29 headline of the Hürriyet newspaper, which had a daily sales of 600,000 ten years ago. The report entitled "Stalin's Bloody Legacy" presents the historical facts to the readers as follows: "In 1921, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, with a majority of Armenians, was established in Azerbaijan. Nakhchivan, where Azerbaijanis were in the majority, was established in the territory of Armenia.”

Put aside whether it is a big or small newspaper, this news in the headline of a newspaper is the saddest example of ignorance and illiteracy, and what good can it do for Azerbaijan's just struggle? Or what does the fact that shallow speeches on TV are embellished with flattering praises add to Azerbaijan's just struggle?

Elimination of this situation created by Azerbaijan's operations to ensure its territorial integrity after the successful completion of operations is as important as those operations and must be carried out immediately.

Mayis Alizade