Taraf
 |
|
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | Başar Arslan |
| Publisher | Alkım Kitabevi |
| Editor |
Ahmet Altan (2007-2012) Neşe Düzel (2013-2016) |
| Founded | 10 September 2002 |
| Political alignment |
Liberal democracy Cultural liberalism |
| Language | Turkish |
| Ceased publication | 27 July 2016 |
| Headquarters | Istanbul, Turkey |
| Circulation | 56571 |
| Website | 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 circulation since November 15, 2007. On July 27, 2016, the newspaper was closed under a statutory decree during the state of emergency after the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt, due to its alleged links with the coup plotters' Gülen movement.
Taraf has published a series of highly-controversial stories that revealed the involvement of the Turkish military in daily political affairs. The revealed documents, such as coup plans that involved the bombing of historical mosques in Turkey ("Sledgehammer" coup plan) and bombing of a museum (Operation Cage Action Plan), significantly damaged the social image of the Turkish military. The sources that leaked such critical insider information to Taraf are still unknown.(NAILA TARAF SHERIFA AND REEM)
The response of the Turkish military to Taraf included canceling the newspaper's accreditation from press releases at its headquarters. A political journal, Nokta, had similarly published leaked military information (Sarıkız, Ayışığı, Yakamoz and Eldiven) and was closed down in 2007 due to pressure.
The founder and owner of Taraf, Başar Arslan, dismisses accusations of bias and outside funding, saying that he has made a considerable loss in his mission to create the country's most prestigious newspaper. He considers Taraf an investment that will eventually pay off.
Some prominent names of Taraf, such as reporter Mehmet Baransu, columnist Emre (Emrullah) Uslu, and former columnist Önder Aytaç are known for their affiliation with the Gülen movement, although it has been denied that they act as quasi-officials representatives of the movement.
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Wikipedia