Director of Communications Altun: "Türkiye and Libya turned upside down someone else's plans for the region and established their own. With this unified will and commitment, we will not allow any initiative to undermine our countries' collaboration and solidarity, as well as regional stability and peace."
Presidency's Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun attended the Forum of Tripoli for Government Communication in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, at the invitation of Minister of State for Communication and Political Affairs Walid Al-Lafi of the Government of National Unity (GNU) of the State of Libya.
Speaking at the event where Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh of the Government of National Unity of the State of Libya delivered the opening remarks, Director of Communications Altun expressed his joy to be in Libya, a friendly and brotherly country, and to participate in such a forum.
Noting that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan extended his most heartfelt greetings to the participants, Director of Communications Altun stated that relations with Libya and the Islamic world continue to be strengthened under President Erdoğan's leadership.
Citing the fact that uncertainty prevails in all areas when looking at the current global landscape, Director of Communications Altun stated that a conflict, war, crisis, or epidemic in any region has both direct and indirect repercussions that reach even the most remote parts of the world.
Director of Communications Altun stated that these repercussions could manifest in political, diplomatic, economic, social, and humanitarian contexts, adding that humanity seeks stability and predictability in every field today.
Director of Communications Altun continued: "Of course, unless this pursuit is based on justice and truth, it will be impossible to generate permanent, planned, and functional solutions to the problems at hand. In such a time, Türkiye offers realistic, moral, humanitarian, and sincere solutions to regional crises and global conflicts and employs all of its strengths in this regard."
Emphasising how, in this era of global uncertainty, Türkiye stands out as an island of stability while contributing to world peace as a stabilising power, Director of Communications Altun noted that they are taking steps one after the other to preserve Türkiye's national rights and interests and strengthen the country's security, while also assuming leading roles in resolving regional and global problems through the peace diplomacy they conduct.
"We try to build an atmosphere of peace in our region and around the world"
Director of Communications Altun highlighted that while Türkiye has worked to keep the crises in the Russia-Ukraine war from escalating, it has opposed reckless acts and rhetoric of the third parties that have fuelled the fire and that President Erdoğan was the only leader who could meet with the leaders of both Russia and Ukraine during this time.
Director of Communications Altun affirmed how this demonstrates the trust the President and our country have built and how as a result, they were able to bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table in Türkiye.
Director of Communications Altun added that the Istanbul process, through which the warring parties were brought together, remains the most appropriate platform for peace talks between the two countries.
Recalling how the prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine also occurred under the leadership of President Erdoğan and through the mediation of Türkiye, Director of Communications Altun added:
"Of course, we were interested not only in the operation of diplomatic channels between the two countries but also in resolving the war's indirect repercussions, which touched the entire world. The halt of grain shipments from Ukraine and Russia during the war created the global food crisis. It was resolved with the signing of the grain corridor agreement as a consequence of our President's close contacts with the leaders of the two countries. Türkiye also assisted in overcoming blockages in the grain corridor and extending the agreement's term. Our country's sincere efforts to tackle the global food crisis extending from Europe to Africa have been fruitful; thanks be to Allah. And the entire globe has reaped the benefits of this effort. Our country will continue to play a stabilising role by helping to resolve the energy problem caused by the war.
As can be seen, unlike others, whose only priority is their own safety and well-being, Türkiye tries to build an atmosphere of peace in our region and around the world. Of course, the strategic leadership of our President provides very important opportunities in this process."
Expressing that they are currently reaffirming Türkiye's constructive approach with President Erdoğan's vision, the Century of Türkiye, Director of Communications Altun said, "We will continue to work tirelessly to make the Century of Türkiye a century of peace, trust, stability, and tranquillity for our country, region, and the world."
"Western colonial system is the primary source of modern-day injustices"
Explaining how both the global COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war exacerbated global uncertainty and exposed shortcomings in the international system, Director of Communications Altun stated that these events once again demonstrated that humanity's fate is shared and that the issues became significantly more difficult as a result of some countries' purely selfish or unrealistic approaches.
Indicating how, at this point, it is clear that the current problems are the result of the way the West established the international system by putting itself at the centre and offering itself a privileged position; "Western colonial system is the primary source of modern-day injustices. We find Western agendas wherever waves of instability have swept through, such as in Iraq, Syria, Palestine, and Libya," said Director of Communications Altun.
Director of Communications Altun went on to say: "Every country that opposes the global order based on the Western-centric worldview is suppressed through perception management operations and disinformation. Or terrorist organisations and political and social instability plans are used to try to bring countries into the desired position. Türkiye is one of the countries most exposed to these malicious agendas and disinformation. These attacks also target the Libyan state and people, as well as Türkiye-Libya relations. Because Türkiye and Libya turned upside down someone else's plans for the region and established their own. Thanks be to Allah that our Libyan brothers and sisters are perfectly aware that Türkiye has no hidden agenda in any of its efforts and that its intentions are sincere. Together, we take steps that deepen our historical, geographical, political, military, economic and cultural ties, one after the other. With this unified will and commitment, we will not allow any initiative to undermine our countries' collaboration and solidarity, as well as regional stability and peace."
Director Communications Altun voiced that The Republic of Türkiye and its people will continue to stand by Libya and Libyan brothers and sisters.
Director of Communications Altun stated that they will continue to contribute to the solution of the Islamic Ummah's current problems and strengthen cooperation, citing their demonstrated sensitivity to relations with the Islamic world.
Director of Communications Altun stated that they intend to advance partnerships in the field of communications, as well as in all other fields in this context, adding that they took over the term presidency of the 12th Islamic Conference of Information Ministers from Saudi Arabia and that with such enormous responsibility, they will take an approach that will broaden and deepen collaboration in the fields of information, media, and communications.
Director of Communications Altun said that the Istanbul Declaration, adopted at the Conference of the Ministers of Information of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, had critical content in terms of combating disinformation and Islamophobia, adding, "In the Istanbul Declaration, we also reaffirmed our commitment to the Palestinian cause. I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate our solidarity with our Palestinian brothers and sisters."
"We must unite in our fight against digital terrorism and digital imperialism"
Director of Communications Altun stated that the world is now faced with hybrid and complex new-generation threats that target individual rights, public peace, national security, regional and global peace, and that this era in which the truth is being pushed to the background is known as the "Post Truth" era.
Director of Communications Altun stated that the exploitation of communications technologies for malevolent purposes is a significant concern they confront in this age and that, unfortunately, some malicious groups are using the opportunities offered by digitalisation and new technologies to engage in destructive activities such as disinformation, smear campaigns, influence operations, hate speech, terrorist propaganda, or digital bullying, and that someone is deliberately creating a crisis of truth.
Underlining that this crisis of truth has expanded to many spheres, from politics to society, culture to the business world and the media, Director of Communications Altun continued:
"Today, social media platforms stand out as the channels where the truth is most damaged. These platforms, which are not as liberal and neutral as they advertise, have become a breeding ground for various malicious actions, ranging from digital terrorism to influence operations. 'Twitter disclosures' in recent days have once again demonstrated how arbitrary this platform is when it comes to actions like removing and blocking content or closing an account.
We have witnessed that the content policies of Twitter, which claims to have revolutionised so-called freedom of expression, are being used as a weapon against anyone who disagrees with the company's management or its interests.
Likewise, it was revealed how Twitter helped the Pentagon's online psychological operation. Here is how the system works: Over the years, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) has sent Twitter a list of accounts in the Arabic language that they "use to spread certain messages." On the same day, Twitter officials whitelisted the accounts reported by CENTCOM to protect them against complaints and designate them as verified accounts. These accounts frequently tweet against many countries, from Iran to Yemen, Afghanistan to Iraq and Syria, within the framework of America's military priorities. In addition to Twitter, the US soldiers' secret propaganda network appeared on Facebook, Telegram and other applications. At this moment, it is relevant to ask this question: It is evidenced by documents that social media platforms allowed psychological influence operations of the American army and created room for them. So, is it still possible to talk about the impartiality and independence of these platforms? These Twitter practices of not taking action against accounts disseminating terrorist propaganda against Türkiye are indicative of systemic disinformation that goes beyond double standards. This arbitrariness and disregard for rules clearly pose major threats to individuals, societies, and countries. It's a fact that all of this takes place under the guise of impartiality. This can only be called digital fascism, digital terrorism."
Director of Communications Altun said that just as the countries need to protect their countries and citizens from actual terrorist attacks, they also need to protect them from systematic perception management operations, disinformation, digital fascism and digital terrorism, and that they must unite in their fight against digital imperialism.
"We will continue to defend and tell the truth for our country, region and humanity"
Emphasising that in addition to the legal, political, diplomatic or military aspects of the threats they face as Türkiye, they are also fighting on the communication front, Director of Communications Altun said that the Presidency's Directorate of Communications conducts Türkiye's communication in an integrated, multifaceted and sustainable institutional structure.
Director of Communications Altun also gave information on the efforts conducted by the Directorate and Türkiye's Communication Model, saying that they keep on fighting for the truth from the point of view of communication, of which Our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is the flag bearer, with his motto of "A Fairer World is Possible".
Director of Communications Altun said that they have succeeded in making numerous disinformation attempts against their country ineffective and continued:
"We are ready to share our Türkiye's Communication Model, the capacity and experience we have developed in this field, with our friends.
We are eager to collaborate in the sphere of communication with friendly and brotherly countries in order to establish a much stronger and more robust worldwide society in the face of international crises and uncertainties. We believe that the truth will always win, and the truth will save the world. We will keep on fighting for the truth. Our President states that Türkiye's Communication Model is a result of a search for a new truth-oriented communication approach that prioritises people's right to access information over all else. He states the purpose of this model as 'defending and implementing a conception of communication within the circle of truth that draws strength from democracy and international law.' In this regard, we will continue to defend and tell the truth for our country, region and humanity. We will continue to contribute to the development of an atmosphere in which truth prevails."
Following his speech, Director of Communications Altun and Prime Minister Dbeibeh of Libya toured the art exhibition, which was organised as part of the Forum.
