Journalists Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin were targeted and killed in a Turkish UCAV strike while returning from reporting on the latest attacks at between Tishreen Dam and Sirîn town in North and East Syria on 19 December.  

 

Arif Bulut and Rasim Denizciler, who studied with Nazım Daştan at Gaziantep University, talked about him and his work. Stating that they worked with Daştan in the field together during the 2015 elections, Bulut said that Daştan was a friendly, sincere and approachable person. Emphasizing that Daştan's way of practicing his profession was remarkable, Bulut noted that Daştan took care to remain loyal to professional principles while practicing his profession. 

 

Stressed that Daştan was a journalist in pursuit of the truth, Bulut said: "Nazım was always there with his equipment wherever there was a violation of the people, a cry for rights. He would always include this cry for rights in his news. When I read a news story bearing Nazım's signature, I had no doubts - because I witnessed it firsthand in the field."

 

Drawing attention to the structure of the media in Turkey, “Nazım would not have been able to work in a realistic and objective way in another press organization with his news, they would not have employed him. Therefore, since Nazım's frame was the cry of the people, the demand for justice, he saw himself here, and we learned about many rights violations and cries for rights in this field through news reports bearing his signature,” he said.  

 

'HE WOULD BRAVELY PURSUE THE NEWS'

 

Arif Bulut

 

Pointing to the pressures Daştan faced while practicing his profession, Bulut continued as follows: “He was also traveling to Rojava and at that time Dîlok was a transit route for jihadists. In some news stories, I and other journalists were worried that 'if we put our signature on these stories, we might face these risks', but Nazım did not have such a concern. If the information was true, if it caused a violation of rights, or if it clearly revealed a demand for rights, Nazım would bravely pursue that news, have it verified and have it published. He never thought about the cost. His focus was on the public's right to receive accurate news. At that time, when we were following some news, even though I didn't feel it much when I was alone, when Nazım and I were going together, we could see that we were being followed. I saw that pressure on Nazım until we went to Rojava. He was being followed both physically and technically.”

 

'WE NEVER THOUGHT WE WOULD LOSE HIM'

 

Bulut said that Daştan went to Kobanê, where no journalist dared to go, and said journalist were trying to get imformation form Nazım. Emphasizing that it was easy to reach Daştan and Cihan Bilgin because they were journalists, Bulut said that the last time they talked with Daştan was the day before he was murdered, and continued his words as follows: “I asked about them and the situation there. He said he was not in a suitable place. He said he would come back at a convenient time and provide information. That talk was our last. Nazım stayed in Rojava a lot and witnessed many things. Sometimes when we talk, he says, 'I have witnessed many things. I have documentary works. I will turn them into a documentary the day after tomorrow'. I know that he kept his archive, because when we talked amongst ourselves, he would talk about these things. What he witnessed, what he recorded, what work he was going to do, what work was left incomplete. Maybe his friends knew, but this remained a nagging question for me. We couldn't ask, because we never thought we would lose Nazım.”

 

REACTION TO MAINSTREAM

 

Reacting to the silence of some mainstream media journalists who called Daştan to get accurate information from him during the years of attacks on Kobanê and acted as if they were “friendly”, Bulut said: “It is a shame that they do not mention the massacre. We have also seen this shameful picture. But we will always stand by the Free Press workers. We will be their defenders. Those who know the coverage and news flow of the Free Press know that wherever in the world there is an attack on a journalist, they include it in their news reports.” 

 

Emphasizing that the murder of Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin did not comply with both national and international law. Bulut called for an investigation into the murder of Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin.  

 

'HE WOULD NOT HOLD BACK FROM ANY WORK'

 

 

Rasim Denizciler, who stated that their ties with Nazım Daştan, whom they met at university in 2011, were never severed until he went to Rojava, described Daştan as “always energetic, positive and smiling”. Pointing to the arrest process of Daştan, Denizciler said: “Nazım was arrested for about 5 months. I used to go to the prison as Nazım's interviewer. Behind the bars, Nazım was passing his energy and a mouthful of laughter to my side of the prison. It was as if he was the one outside and I was the one inside. He was in a place where he loved life with great joy.”  

 

'NO POWER COULD STOP HIM FROM WRITING THE TRUTH'

  

Stating that he was a close follower of Daştan, who worked as a journalist at the university, Denizciler continued: “Wherever the truth was, Nazım was there. No power could stop him from writing this truth. If there was something, Nazım would definitely reach it and write it down. There was no turning back. And he did this with great energy. We could see that his reporting was completely objective, completely accurate. For years I was a witness to Nazım's real journalism. Nazım was not a journalist with a gun in his hand, he was a journalist with a camera in his hand and he only shared the truth. 2 days ago journalist Özlem Gürses was detained. Nazım's murder did not make as much noise as this incident. This is a very painful situation for me. Nazım was a journalist whose news everyone followed with curiosity. There was honesty and beauty in his pen. The murder of such a person did not create enough public opinion in the press. This made me deeply sad.”

 

Denizciler underlined that those who murdered the 2 journalists must be held accountable before the law.

 

MA / Rukiye Adıgüzel- Şirvan Şilan Çil