Turkey: Journalist declared "agent provocateur" by ultranationalist party

A Turkish journalist was first scolded on Tuesday by the leader of the ultranationalist MHP (Nationalist Movement Party,) then targeted by the party's top official in charge of media, who said the journalist "acts like a agent provocateur."

Journalist Yildiz Yazicioglu, correspondent for Voice of America (VOA), started asking MHP leader Devlet Bahceli a question at the Turkish Grand National Assembly on Tuesday about the assassination of former Grey Wolves leader Sinan Ates, but she was interrupted by Bahceli who snapped at her, "On your way," and rudely nudged aside the microphones held by the reporters before him.

At least two current or former MHP and Grey Wolves officials are among the suspects in the case, but Bahceli has so far refused to provide a comprehensive response to the allegations that the assassination is the result of an internal strife within the party and that some MHP officials are involved.

While the hashtags Devlet Bahceli, Yildiz Yazicioglu and Sinan Ates have instantly become trending in Twitter, Ismail Ozdemir, MHP deputy and the party's top official in charge of media, said:

"The behavior of the person who acted like a 'agent provocateur' rather than a journalist as she approached Mr. Devlet Bahceli after his parliamentary group address, pretending to ask him a question, is in contradiction with the professional rules and ethics of journalism. What she practices cannot be called journalism."

Ozdemir added:

"The association of this person with an enemy of Turkey like Can Dundar, and her 'permanent' duty in foreign media outlet VOA, which is a prominent propaganda tool for the US, are revealing of her true intention."