Erdogan calls on the international community to put an end to the abuse in the name of freedoms
On Tuesday, Turkish President Rajab Tayyip Erdogan called on the international community to put an end to the abuses under the name of freedoms, saying: “Under the cloak of freedom of the press, ugly behaviors are practiced, and if there is no end to that, Europe and humanity will pay the price,”
Erdogan added, “A system that does not punish the offender cannot be described as a free system. The adoption by some media outlets of anti-Islam and xenophobic approaches is shameful.”
Erdogan added: “Digitalization that extends the scope of freedom should not lead to marginalization and creating new grievances, and as a politician, I would like to emphasize that technology is like anything else in our life, its function is to facilitate human life, and it will bring good to him if it sees in it an integrated material and moral unity.”
He pointed out: “Turkey has been highlighting these violations for some time now. There is no person or company above the law. In the past months, we have forced social media companies, through new laws, to place representatives in our country.”
Erdogan said that the Turkish measures to regulate the work of social media companies aim to protect children in the first place and the rights of citizens in the second place, noting: “The issue of the absence of any efforts to prevent injustice in social media must be done.”
The Turkish president added that the importance of the country’s efforts and endeavors at the present time to be heard by global public opinion, indicating that the successes achieved by Turkey at the international level either do not take their place fairly, or are diverted from its course.
He added, “We cannot say that the traditional media have completely lost their influence, but there is no denying that we are facing a new reality. The experts in this field in their discussions at TRT World will paint new horizons for us in this regard.”
The Turkish president criticized the double standards in dealing with Western governments’ media about the region’s issues and with the demonstrations taking place in their countries, on top of which are the “yellow jackets” demonstrations in France.
And he added, “At the same time, the “yellow jackets” demonstrations that have lasted for several weeks in the French capital are being ignored in the media, and no criticism of the police violence that blinded the eyes of the demonstrators has been directed at, and then they give us lessons in freedom of the press.”
In this regard, he explained, “The killing of Palestinian children raising their hands in the middle of the road was not news worth mentioning for those who consider themselves independent media,” he said.
He added, “Several days ago, an ambulance carrying a wounded Palestinian was stopped, and he was arrested. This news did not meet with any reaction by the international media.”
He added, “I also do not find it necessary to address the disgusting headlines of newspapers that personally target me.”
Erdogan affirmed that there are great responsibilities incumbent on the TRT Foundation, foremost among which is Turkey’s gateway to the world, TRT World, by making the voice of the oppressed and shining light on them.
Source: Anatolia