HÜRRİYET GAZETESİ’NE GÖRE OSMANLI EKONOMİSİNİN SORUNLARI VE ÇÖZÜM ÖNERİLERİ (1868-1870)

Özet

Osmanlı devletinde yayımlanan ilk gazete 1831 senesinde devlet tarafından yayımlanan Takvimi-i Vekayi gazetesidir. Bu gazetenin çıkarılış amacı devletin yapmış olduğu modernleşme hareketlerini halka duyurmak ve halkı bu konuda yönlendirmektir. Bu gazete kamuoyunu yönlendirmede başarılı olamamış ve gazeteye halk rağbet etmemiştir. Osmanlı devletinde gazeteler 1860 senesinden sonra kamuoyu oluşturmaya başlamıştır. Gazeteler, devletin iktisadi ve siyasi politikalarını sorgulamış ve devlet bürokratlarını setçe eleştirmiştir. Gazetelerin fazlalaşması sonucu ülkede gazeteciliği meslek olarak icra eden gazeteci mesleği ile anılan aydınlar oluşmuştur. Aydınlar, gazeteleri devleti denetleyen bir güç olarak kullanmış ve devlet politikaları hakkında halkın bilgi sahibi olması için çaba göstermiştir. Osmanlı bürokratları, basının kamuoyunu yönlendirmedeki başarısından ürkmüşler ve basını sınırlandırmak amacıyla kararnameler çıkartmıştır. Bu doğrultuda bürokratlar, 1867 senesinde Muhbir ve Tasvir-i Efkar'ı kapatmış ve gazetenin yazarları olan Namık Kemal, Ziya Paşa ve Ali Suavi'yi Anadolu'ya sürgüne yollamıştır. Anadolu'ya sürgün edilen gazeteciler mücadelelerini sürdürmek amacıyla Avrupa'ya kaçmışlardır. Paris'te bir araya gelerek Yeni Osmanlılar Cemiyeti'ni teşkil etmiş ve Osmanlı kamuoyunu aydınlatma mücadelesine devam etmişlerdir. Yeni Osmanlılar Cemiyeti, Londra'da 1867'de Muhbir'i ve 1868'de Hürriyet'i çıkartmıştır. Hürriyet, muhalif bir yayım politikası izlemiş, gazete, haber vermekten ziyade dönemin iktisadi, mali ve siyasi sorunlar hakkında düşünce ve fikir yazıları yayımlamıştır. Bu çalışmanın konusu olan ekonomi sektöründe de Hürriyet'te iktisadi yazılar görülmüştür. Yayımlanan makalelerde devletin iktisadi ve mali politikaları tenkit edilmiştir

Abstract

The first newspaper published in the Ottoman Empire was the newspaper of the year 1831 published by the state.It is to announce to the public the modernization movements in which this newspaper was made by the intended state and to direct the people to this issue. This newspaper has not succeeded in directing the public and the public has not been popular.Newspapers started to form public opinion in the Ottoman State after 1860. They questioned economic and political decisions of the state and harshly criticized state bureaucrats. As the newspapers grew in number, intellectuals who performed journalism professionally and were known as professional journalists emerged. These intellectuals used newspapers to check the state power and endeavored to inform public regarding state policies. Ottoman bureaucrats were annoyed by the success of the press in driving public opinion and issued decrees to limit press. Accordingly, bureaucrats closed down Muhbir ve Tasvir-i Efkar and exiled writers of the newspaper, namely Namık Kemal, Ziya Paşa and Ali Suavi to Anatolia. Journalists who were banished to Anatolia fled to Europe in order to keep fighting. They formed Yeni Osmanlılar Fellowship by coming together in Paris and kept striving to illuminate Ottoman public opinion. The fellowship formed Muhbir in 1867 and Hürriyet in 1868 in London. Hürriyet followed a dissident publication policy and published opinion articles regarding fiscal and political problems rather than giving news. Economic articles, which are the topic of this study, were seen in Hürriyet. In this articles, economic and fiscal policies of the state were criticized.The first newspaper in the Ottoman Empire was published with the support of the Sultan Mahmut II. In order to popularize the modernization movements of the Sultan, the Takvim-i Vekayi was published in this direction in 1831. It was planned as a weekly newspaper at the beginning but has not been published regularly and has not been successful in shaping public opinion. The second newspaper that published in the country was Ceride-i Havadis, which was published by British merchant Churchill in 1840. This newspaper was called as official gazette because it was supported by state. Ceride-i Havadis also has not been published regularly and could not afford to get public support. Even though these two newspaper could not shape the public opinion as desired, they are important for Turkish press history as first examples of newspaper and their role in teaching journalism. The newspaper in the Ottoman Empire started to form public oppinion after 1860s. Newspapers such as Tercüman-i Ahval, Tasvir-i Efkar, Ruzname-i Ceride, Mecmua-i Fünun, Mir'at and Muhbir have been published and became publishing bodies that supervise and question the policies of the state, and propose alternative policies. As a result of the publication policy of these newspapers, press began to fulfill its real mission in the country and carried out the task of forming an independent autonomous public opinion. Besides questioning the policies of the state, they played a role in increasing the knowledge of the public. They also questioned the economic policies of the state and sternly criticized the implementation of the bureaucrats. As a result of increase in the number of newspaper, journalism became a Professional occupation and a class of intellectual journalist has emerged. Agah Effendi and Mehmet Şerif Efendi in Tercüman-ı Ahval, Şinasi, Namık Kemal in Tasvir-i Efkar, Münif Efendi in Mecmua-ı Fünun, Refik Bey in Mirat and Suavi in Muhbir are some important intellectual of the period. After emergence of the class of intellectuals, for the first time critics raised on state policies beside of the bureaucrats. These intellectuals used newspapers as an oversee power and has made efforts to inform public about state’s policies. Ottoman bureaucrats were frightened by the success of the press in orienting the public opinion and issued resolutions in order to limit the press power. In this direction, the bureaucrats closed the Muhbir ve Tasvir-i Efkar in 1867 and sent Namık Kemal, Ziya Pasha and Ali Suavi, the authors of the newspaper, to exile to Anatolia. Journalists who have been exiled to Anatolia have fled to Europe to continue their struggle. They came together in Paris, formed the New Ottoman Society, and continued to struggle for the enlightenment of the Ottoman public opinion. The Ottoman Society published the Muhbir in 1867 and Hürriyet in 1868 in London. Hürriyet has followed an opposition policy, published thought and opinion essays about the economic, financial and political problems of the period instead of news reporting. Economical critics, which is the subject of this study, were published in Hurriyet. The economic and financial policies of the state have been criticized in the published articles. The most influential journalists of the period such as Namık Kemal, Ziya Pasha, Rifat Bey and Ali Suavi wrote articles in the newspaper. The vast majority of the articles in the paper belong to Namık Kemal and Ziya Pasha. Many articles about the government's financial and economic policies, especially borrowing, development, wastage and the 1838 trade agreement, which are important economic problems of the period, were seen in Hurriyet. Hürriyet has not directly opposed the government's borrowing policy, but criticized bureaucrats for using this tool too often. Hürriyet writers pointed out that debt can be used to ease the economy in the financial troubles of the state, but criticize the excessive use of debt by governments and called it as a mistake in this respect. They opposed to the use of barrowed capital for current expenditures of the government and advised to use this capital for investments. Due to the signing of debt agreements in every two years at the period. Hürriyet gave lots of place to this topic in its papers and published a protest against the borrowing agreement that was signed in 1869.