It may seem self-serving for a newspaper to single out the warrants issued for the arrest of 42 journalists by the Turkish government since the failed coup d'état. But the detention of so many journalists, in a time of crisis, is certain to be a major net loss of discussion and information at a time when Turkish democracy, or what is left of it, needs it most.
The journalists are the tip of the iceberg. As many as 60,000 people in Turkey have been detained, dismissed or suspended from their work, since the failed coup.
On Tuesday, the Leader of the Republican People's Party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, gave an interview to The Associated Press, advising President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to refrain from a "witch hunt" against suspected allies of the coup d'état conspirators.
"We all need to engage in self-criticism," said Mr. Kilicdaroglou. Indeed, he should know. In former times, the RPP, a secularist and nationalist party, was implicated in a number of coups (and another quasi-coup) authorized by the general staff of the Turkish armed forces, when the military thought the civilian politicians were getting out of hand. The RPP is the current successor of the non-religious founder of the Turkish republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
One result of the crisis is that a secularist and liberal newspaper such as Hurriyet appears to be safe from Mr. Erdogan's crackdown, while the Erdogan government had even before the coup attempt expropriated the religiously oriented Zaman newspaper.
The recent and current conflict in Turkey has been between two former allies in Islamic politics: Mr. Erdogan's Justice and Development Party and the followers of Fethullah Gulen.
Yes, the actual coup plotters ought to be prosecuted and punished – though capital punishment should not be restored. And Turks should be allowed to return to their careers without fear of dismissal, or worse.
Mr. Erdogan's call for "cleansing of all state institutions" sounds like a drastic, root-and-branch remaking of state and society – a coup of its own, ending full democracy, and replacing it with an authoritarian regime.