Mehmet Ali Birand

Mehmet Ali Birand    (journalist)
Milliyet meeting with Birand at the far end of the table
Born	9 December 1941 Beyoğlu, Istanbul, Turkey
Died	17 January 2013 (Age 71) Şişli, Istanbul, Turkey
Nationality	Turkish
Alma mater	Galatasaray High School
Turkish journalist with Milliyet and CNN Türk. Spoke positively of Fethullah Gülen. Attempted framed by intelligence services.

Mehmet Ali Birand was a Turkish journalist, political commentator and writer. He attended the 2007 Bilderberg meeting.

Education

He was born to İzzet and his wife Mürvet on 9 December 1941 in Beyoğlu, Istanbul. He completed his high school education at Galatasaray High School.

Career

Birand began his journalism career in 1964 by writing in the newspaper Milliyet. In 1992, he joined Show TV and presented the news. Birand began hosting a political show titled 32. Gün (The 32nd Day), which was first on TRT in 1985 and then moved to other private TV channels as CNN Türk and Show TV. He also presented the daily news on CNN Türk. Before his death in 2013, he worked at Kanal D, hosting the news.

While working at Milliyet, in 1971 he married Cemre Güngören, the stepdaughter of Ercüment Karacan, the son of Ali Naci Karacan, the founder of Milliyet. After their marriage, the couple went to Brussels and lived there for twenty years. In 1977, he had a son named Umur Ali. Birand, who also has Belgian citizenship and speaks French and English in addition to his mother tongue Turkish.

In 1986, he convinced the Soviet Union officials and Milliyet, and opened an office in Moscow. In 1988 , he interviewed Abdullah Öcalan at the PKK camp in Lebanon's Beka'a valley. This interview was the first interview with Öcalan in Turkey, and after its publication in June 1988, Milliyet newspaper was confiscated and its publication was (temporarily) banned.

He also authored several books including 30 Sıcak Gün, Diyet, Türkiye'nin Avrupa Macerası, 12 Eylül 04.00 and Emret Komutanım.

Birand was also a member of Galatasaray's board and uncommitted governance council.

Incrimination attempt

Birand was mentioned in the Andiç scandal, which was the leaking of information to incriminate prominent journalists of an alleged cooperation with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The "Andıç" document was prepared by the Turkish Generals Çevik Bir and Erol Özkasnak. The document falsely claimed to include statements by Şemdin Sakık, one of the members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and caught in 1998 by the authorities. These statements were published in Hürriyet and Sabah newspapers for two days on April 25, 1998. With the publication of the confessions said to belong to Sakık, the journalists mentioned in the confessions were dismissed from their jobs and there was an assassination attempt on Akın Birdal, who survived with serious injuries. When he was later brought to court, Sakık declared that he did not make such a statement. In October 2000, Nazlı Ilıcak delivered a document to journalists showing that all this was part of a psychological warfare tactic prepared by the General Staff's intelligence, and ten days after the publication of the document, the General Staff acknowledged the existence of the document called "andiç".

Assassination threat

In 2006, he said that the Gendarmerie Intelligence Organization (JITEM) had asked Mahmut Yıldırım (Yeşil) to assassinate him, but that the operation was later cancelled, after Yıldırım had already investigated Birand's home security. Birand said that MIT chief Şenkal Atasagun was one of those who had told him of this episode.

His views on Fethullah Gulen

He said the following about Fethullah Gülen, a billionaire businessman and religious leader who is closely tied to Gladio 2.0 and seen as a threat by sections of the Turkish leadership:

"He is a unique person...Because we have certain patterns that were formed over 70 years. We look at people with those patterns. This esteemed gentleman is not a person who was brought up with such patterns. He can look for consensus no matter what opinion you have, no matter how angry you are, no matter how much you hate it. Let's discuss. Let's see, I'll tell you my views, and you tell yours. But there's no harm in the end. Maybe we can't get along, but at least we can better understand what each other is doing.' This approach affects me a lot.”

In his article "Why does Fethullah Gülen scare us?" he wrote in 2005:

"Just as I don't fear his statement of views, I also do not believe that people who will adopt these views will endanger the future of the country. Let's leave Fethullah Gülen behind now."

Opinions about Abdullah Öcalan

In a television program he participated in on November 21, 2012, he said that a general amnesty is needed in Turkey and that Abdullah Öcalan should be released, which caused controversy:

"He will become the leader of the party. Öcalan may one day enter the Turkish Parliament if it is not delayed too long."

Death

Birand died on 17 January 2013 from complications of gallbladder surgery to replace a stent at the American Hospital in Istanbul. He had been receiving cancer treatment for a while. He was 71 years old.

Newspapers worked for

• 1964–1992 Milliyet
• 1992–1998 Sabah
• 1999–2013 Posta
• 2001–2013 Hürriyet
• 2001–2011 Milliyet

 

Event Participated in

Event	Start	End	Location(s)	Description
Bilderberg/2007	31 May 2007	3 June 2007	Turkey Istanbul	The 55th Bilderberg meeting, held in Turkey

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