In his speech he delivered at the "17th Traditional January 1st Meeting of the Family of Science Dissemination" held at the Halkalı Central Campus of Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University with the cooperation of the Foundation for Science Dissemination, the Science Dissemination Society and the Vefa Science Dissemination Alumni Association (VEFADER), Presidency's Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun said, "In 20 years, crucial steps have been taken to break the cogs that cause social injustice in Türkiye. Now is the time to break the cogs behind these injustices in the global arena."
Stating that the Science Dissemination Society served as a home for them as well during their time as students and significantly helped in their socialisation, Director of Communications Altun thanked everyone who contributed to this organisation.
Recalling that the Science Dissemination Society was an association that worked for the benefit of the nation based on science and wisdom, Director of Communications Altun said that his student years there coincided with the mid-1990s and that these were the years when the established international order pressured Türkiye deeply, and this pressure was also reciprocated.
Director of Communications Altun pointed out that historically, Western colonialism has followed different paths and discourses and made the following assessment:
"In the beginning, there was the exploitation of non-Western societies by using force and violence. Another method used by Western colonialism was much more evident after the Second World War. We witnessed the approach of exploiting the non-Western world by placing it in a dependent position in the international system, giving it a limited share. We saw this in the West's policies of exploiting the world outside the West after 1945. In this sense, the methods of pressurising, allocation, or persuasion were employed simultaneously by the West in the 1990s in order to incorporate Türkiye into the dependent order. The 1990s were a time when top-down Westernisation and supposedly modernisation practises were implemented with the utmost severity, and oppressive policies were increasingly apparent."
Director of Communications Altun stated that the order that appeared as of February 28 was perceived as a time when oppression and injustice reached their pinnacle in Türkiye's political life, and social opposition emerged as a result.
Director of Communications Altun explained that this social opposition was demanding the construction of the future and social justice and continued:
"In the 2000s, as a response to this social demand, the movement led by our President was formed, and since then, it has practised politics by taking into account the principles of justice and development. It has engaged in politics thus far based on these two commitments. Would Türkiye be a country enslaved by externally imposed crises, or would it be an assertive actor producing structural solutions to its accumulated problems? Under the leadership of our President, Türkiye chose the challenging and liberating route. In retrospect, Türkiye has put up a tough struggle since then."
Director of Communications Altun stated that these struggles were not easy, that Türkiye has grown during this period, that supporters of tutelage have been eliminated, and that political institutions have become more credible and added, "Numerous fundamental human rights issues have been resolved, society-state ties have been restored, and social peace, tranquillity, and prosperity have been established thanks to the policy of eradicating terrorism at its source. Moreover, a unique political space was created regarding the economy and foreign policy."
Director of Communications Altun reiterated that this process required extremely severe had to deal with various interventions, from the Gezi incidents to July 15 and financial intervention operations.
Stressing that this struggle is still ongoing today, Director of Communications Altun noted:
"Today, this struggle is being fought in two areas. On the one side, there are people who fight for the dream of a big, strong, productive, and free Türkiye; on the other, there is Türkiye, which has abandoned its dwindling claims and become unstable. A Türkiye with the strong political leadership on the one hand and a structure that promises fragmented management mechanisms trapped in their own internal conflicts and conflicts of interest on the other. On the one hand, there is a Türkiye that develops its own technology and achieves independence; on the other hand, there is a perception of Türkiye that insists on dependency on foreign sources. Again, there is Türkiye on the one hand, which combats terrorism by eradicating it at its source and global terrorism, and then there is Türkiye on the other, which has administrative mechanisms affected by those who support and patronise terrorist organisations… This struggle is still present today. The factors that are influenced by international structures and that are not even possible to be regarded side by side under normal circumstances come together when we examine the political reality of Türkiye. Their shared political identification opposing our President is the only thing they have in common. They self-identify in that way. "
"Today, the world is truly experiencing an era of global uncertainty and chaos"
Stating, "Today, the world is truly experiencing an era of global uncertainty and chaos. In this era, living in a stable country is an extremely valuable accomplishment." Director of Communications Altun continued:
"It's a win for that country and its people. It's also a win for the region and global peace. We are currently witnessing a virtual collapse of the liberal globalisation utopia in the international arena. We see the emergence of trade wars and protectionism in the international arena. We live in a world where financial crises, raw material crises, pandemics and health crises manifest themselves. We are experiencing an area dominated by global terrorism and even hot wars. All of this demonstrates the significance of strong political leadership and stability in this critical period of chaos. In this regard, Türkiye is an island of stability led by the strong political leadership. Türkiye is not satisfied with this; under the leadership of our President, it achieves a stable position of power."
Noting that the fundamental institutions established after 1945 demonstrated a complete lack of vision and incompetence to control the international order, Director of Communications Altun said, "None of these organisations is successful in resolving the macro challenges that dominate the global arena. Today, we observe that these organisations are incapable of producing solutions for humanitarian crises. In terms of humanitarian crises, Türkiye ranks first in humanitarian aid and second in development aid compared to its gross domestic product. Throughout the pandemic, we observed that these organisations were unable to produce a solution. In doing so, Türkiye made history. It has distinguished itself positively on the international stage by virtue of its healthcare infrastructure and solid social state performance. At a time when European countries were squabbling over masks and nearly attempting to steal each other's medical supplies, Türkiye provided considerable aid to developing countries, including medical supplies and, afterwards, vaccines. We have witnessed the failure of these organisations, especially during the Syrian civil war. In this regard, Türkiye's contributions to the resolution of numerous problems were prominent."
"In the last 20 years, Türkiye has undergone a drastic transformation"
Noting that Türkiye took serious steps in the Russia-Ukraine War and made serious moves to end the war with the grain corridor and prisoner exchange, Director of Communications Altun said that before the war began, President Erdoğan's relationship with Putin was problematised by Western actors and there were even meaningless discussions such as "axis shift" in Türkiye's foreign policy.
Noting that everyone is aware of the calls made by Western leaders to President Erdoğan to negotiate after the war began, Director of Communications Altun stated, "Türkiye has undergone significant change in the last 20 years. We are actors witnessing this process as a natural part of this transformation. We must read and understand critical historical processes by taking a step back from time to time."
"Our struggle for justice has become an international, global one"
Stating that this transformation has not been adequately understood, Director of Communications Altun continued:
"This transformation is more than just a fight for justice and development in Türkiye. It is also a struggle for global system transformation. It is a transformation associated with the nature of the Western colonial system and the Western dependency order that operates in accordance with it. With this aspect, Türkiye has proposed a model that goes against the West's colonial will. It created his own interpretation of modernisation. With its fight for justice, it has demonstrated that it can operate in accordance with the realities of its region using its own mental calculations rather than the exemplary calculations of right and wrong. We say it loud and clear: in the last 20 years, significant steps have been taken to break the wheels that cause social injustice in Türkiye. Now is the time to dismantle the global injustices as well as the wheels that drive these injustices. At this point, our struggle for justice has become an international, global one. This nation will triumph if we win the global struggle. Producing is a guarantee of regional and global peace, as well as a great and powerful Türkiye. At the same time, the people of this region benefit the people of this country. We will work together to expand on this accomplishment."
