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President Erdoğan: Unless an end is put to the uncivil attitude displayed under the cover of press freedom, the whole humanity will suffer along with Europe

 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed via video message the opening session of the TRT World 2020, which focuses on the theme ‘Shifting Dynamics: The International Order in a Post-Pandemic World’.

“DIGITALIZATION SHOULDN’T CAUSE NEW INJUSTICES AND ALIENATIONS”

Drawing attention to the deep impacts of the COVID-19 in every sphere of life, President Erdoğan stated that the pandemic brought about major changes in a wide range of areas extending from bilateral relations to economy to shopping practices. Noting that media, politics and international relations are among the fields affected by this wave of changes, President Erdoğan drew attention to the growing digitalization in media, and said: “We of course cannot claim that the traditional media fully lost its influence. However, we also cannot deny that we are faced with a new reality. I believe that the discussions to be held by the experts during the TRT World Form will draw new horizons for us on this issue.”

Expressing his belief that everything in life, including the technology itself, is there to facilitate human life, President Erdoğan said: “The kind of digitalization which sees human beings as a whole with their material and spiritual aspects will lead to auspicious developments for all of us. Digitalization, however, will lead to fascism if it is viewed as an area without auditing and law that is open to arbitrariness. That is why digitalization, while expanding freedoms, shouldn’t cause new injustices, new iniquities and new alienations.”

Emphasizing the importance of informing the international community about the works conducted inside the country, President Erdoğan stated that Turkey, unfortunately, experienced a lot of problems in this regard for years, with its domestic and international achievements not covered in a fair manner abroad.

“THOSE LECTURING US ON PRESS FREEDOM PLAYED OSTRICH WHEN SIMILAR INCIDENTS TOOK PLACE IN OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES”

Turkey endured major double standards and huge injustices throughout the period starting from the Gezi incidents, the President stressed. “Those who vandalized the streets were presented as peaceful protestors by international media outlets that provided live broadcast round the clock. Members of the separatist terrorist organization which spilled the blood of hundreds of thousands of civilians in Syria embellished the covers of the west’s so-called prestigious magazines. However; those, who used to lecture us on press freedom, played ostrich when similar incidents took place in other European countries. They turned a blind eye to the Yellow Vests, which continued for weeks in the middle of Paris. They made no mention of the French police’s disproportionate interventions, which made protestors blind. They didn’t utter one single sentence criticizing the media blockade by France’s state institutions. We witness similar double standards in the face of Israeli security forces’ practices towards Palestinians which are reminiscent of state terror.” 

Noting that he doesn’t even find it worth mentioning the disgusting headlines targeting himself, President Erdoğan said: “As a person who has already become familiar with this partiality, what really upsets and offends me is the attacks against our sacred values. It is really disgraceful for media outlets to spearhead Islamophobia and xenophobia.”

The loathsome attitude displayed under the cover of press freedom poisons the will of people from different religions and cultures to coexist, the President further stressed, and added: “Unless an end is put to this uncivil attitude, the whole humanity will suffer along with Europe.”

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