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Sibel Utku Bila on why she writes

Al-Monitor contributor Sibel Utku Bila shares her thoughts on journalism.
A protester stands against Turkish soldiers during clashes near Silivri, where a hearing on people charged with attempting to overthrow Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist-rooted government is due to take place August 5, 2013. A Turkish court on Monday sentenced a former military commander to life in prison and dozens of others including opposition members of parliament to long terms for plotting against the government, in a case that has exposed deep divisions in the country. Retired military chief of

Sibel Utku Bila has been writing for Al-Monitor since January 2013. She is a freelance journalist based in Ankara who has covered Turkey for 15 years. She was a correspondent for Agence France-Presse (AFP) from 1999 to 2011, and articles she wrote during that period were published in many newspapers around the world. She has also worked as an editor at the Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey’s oldest English-language newspaper.

Al-Monitor:  Why did you decide to become a journalist?

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