WordBulletin

World Bulletin / News Desk

A long-debated, controversial and festering practice within the General Staff of refusing to give accreditation to some TV stations and newspapers will come to an end, media outlets reported on Monday.

The General Staff has long imposed a media accreditation ban on a number of TV stations and newspapers. The ban dates from the Feb. 28, 1997 military intervention, known as the postmodern coup.

While the controversial ban imposed on some media groups has been softened over recent years, the General Staff has continued to exclude select outlets and declined to invite them to press meetings held by military officials.

This practice had been the subject of harsh criticism from intellectuals and democrats, who claim the ban is a remnant from an age of non-democratic practices, surviving despite the process of democratization that has curbed military clout in recent years.

The controversial ban, part of the legacy of the Feb. 28, 1997 coup period and a discriminatory practice that has remained in place for many years, will be removed for the “Anatolian Eagle” aerial military exercises, kicking off today.