Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun said, “Directorate of Communications is the embodiment of strategic communication taking an institutional shape through the vision of our President. If you considered it from such perspective and asked, “What is the most significant function of the Directorate?” I would answer as follows; we are exerting efforts to enhance the Turkey brand and boost our country’s prestige in the international arena.”
Altun answered the questions asked by correspondent Hakan Çelik on CNN Türk’s live broadcast. Çelik recalled that it was the first time Altun has been hosted by a television show since he had taken up the Director of Communications position.
Stating that the Directorate of Communications is an institution founded by the Presidential System of Government, Fahrettin Altun said that the Presidential System of Government was a turning-point in terms of the ideal of a strong and great Turkey.
“Turkey has stepped into a new age with the Presidential System of Government. In this sense, this is a step that resolves the problem of the system of government quite clearly. During the new period, Turkey’s possibilities and capabilities have enhanced both at home and abroad thanks to the Presidential System of Government. Therefore, under the leadership of our esteemed President, a structure, in which the activities of our government were rendered much more rapid and auditable, was brought to the forefront through the Presidential System of Government,” said Altun.
Stating that the Directorate of Communications is an institution taking over certain capabilities of the state coming from the past and inheriting a tradition, Altun said that all the functions fulfilled by the Directorate General of Press and Information have been taken over and all the functions conducted by the offices of press counsellors within the structure of the Presidency have been undertaken. Altun noted that their institution has been sustaining, coordinating, and when necessary auditing the relationship with institutions that were previously coordinated by a deputy prime minister such as Anadolu Agency, TRT, and the Press Announcement Institution on behalf of the government.
“Directorate of Communications is the embodiment of strategic communication taking an institutional shape”
Underlining that the Directorate of Communications has a function of setting the standards for the country’s communication and carrying them out, Altun noted the following:
“Directorate of Communications is the embodiment of strategic communication taking an institutional shape through the vision of our President. If you considered it from such perspective and asked, ‘What is the most significant function of the Directorate?’ I would answer as follows; we are exerting efforts to enhance the Turkey brand and boost our country’s prestige in the international arena. In this sense, through utilizing the facilities of public diplomacy, we are trying to inform the people of the world on Turkey’s place in the world. While implementing public diplomacy and exerting efforts aimed at increasing Turkey’s value as a brand, our most significant functions consist of promoting our positive accumulation, sympathetic past and current capabilities and also obviously fighting against the negative arguments, disinformation campaigns, and black propaganda initiatives arising from certain groups against Turkey.”
“We are working hard to minimize the CİMER process”
Altun said that to render the communication between state and people more competent, they were working hard to assume a critical function in conveying people’s requests to related government bodies and that in this sense CİMER (Presidency’s Communications Centre) was one of the exceptionally qualified examples of participatory democracy.
Stating that the number of applications to CİMER has risen since September 2019 from 2 million 270 thousand to 4 million 270 thousand in 2020 as of yesterday, Director of Communications Altun added the following:
“In other words, we are talking about an increase of 90 percent. In this regard, we can see that the requests, and when appropriate the complaints were brought to the agenda. We convey the requests, and when necessary the complaints received through CİMER to the relevant institutions, which in turn give a response, take an action, and in this context, a healthy and qualified process continues. We are working hard to minimize this process and ensure that it is operated more effectively.”
Underlining that they received very positive feedback from their foreign guests when they told them about CİMER, Altun said, “In the upcoming period, as the phrase goes, we want to export the CİMER model to various countries and in a sense to introduce it to those countries’ democracy to develop a participatory culture. At this point, we are telling our interlocutors clearly that we are open to all kinds of cooperation.”
“CİMER’s position in Turkey is an appreciated process in the international area as well”
Altun stressed that CİMER was not merely a platform where only personal applications are accepted, it was also a quite reliable collection of data regarding how the people truly view them.
Stating that they ended up with a clear roadmap through an analysis of such data regarding the fields to be further focused on and the issues for which steps should be taken, as well as the types of such steps, Altun noted the following:
“Our esteemed President is sensitive on this topic to a great extent. He has a very clear perspective when it comes to the public’s approach, understanding their reflexes on main issues and listening. In this regard, CİMER provides a very important basis.
While managing CİMER processes, we have two main criteria for success. The first one is to finalize the applications most rapidly and effectively, and the second one is to fully guarantee that relevant institutions properly respond to the requests and complaints sent to them within the frame of CİMER. Ultimately, this is a living and dynamic process, but at this point, CİMER’s position in Turkey is an appreciated process in the international arena as well. In this context, CİMER has also received various awards. It has received a gold medal and a first-place award both from the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the International Public Relations Association (IPRA). In this regard, we see that as CİMER’s success is officially further registered in the international arena, there should be more investment in this process. But at the end of the day, we must indicate this clearly and precisely that our esteemed President’s administration model is a model that is ultimately shaped according to our people’s requests, demands and guidance. As a result, CİMER is an intermediary platform for this.”
Stating that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has made very clear contributions to CİMER’s development, Altun indicated that they have been proceeding with their work to develop the platform.
“Establishing the state’s unity of discourse”
Indicating that one of the other functions of the Directorate of Communications is to regulate the media sphere, Altun said they were trying to fulfil important functions varying from improving the working conditions of professionals in the press and handling their accreditations to preparing the media sector for new transformations.
Underlining that they have been also exerting efforts to inform the media, Altun made the following remarks:
"It is one of our important functions to establish the state’s unity of discourse and, in this sense, to determine and implement the public communication standards of the public institutions and organisations. At this point, it is undoubtedly one of the most important functions of our government to accurately inform the public. In carrying out this, of course, what is essential is to establish a unity of discourse. Discursive disorganisation not only brings along misinformation to the public but is also very important in terms of strategic culture. It makes you vulnerable to the manipulation and intervention of external forces. In this sense, the establishment of the state's unity of discourse is also a matter of strategic and national security. With the instructions of our Esteemed President, we also strive to fulfill this function."
Stating that any problem or positive development to be announced was also under the responsibility of the institution, Altun noted that that did not mean that all statements would be made by the Directorate of Communications.
Altun stressed that the ministries, directorates, offices and policy boards made statements about their fields of activity and informed the public, adding that with the new government system, under the instructions of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the institution acted as a facilitator for this process to function in coordination.
Altun stated that the aim was to share a pluralist logic with the public around a unity of discourse, and that the institution was established for that purpose.
"Turkey emerged assertively and became a regional power"
Upon a question regarding the establishment of the Strategic Communication and Crisis Management Department, Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun said that the fight against black propaganda fell in their field of activity.
Indicating that Turkey has gone through a substantial transformation under the leadership of President Erdoğan and that such transformation, which occurred after 2002, carried the country almost to a new league, Altun continued as follows:
"Turkey, contrary to the old era, became almost autonomous in the economy, foreign policy and security areas. It became able to implement its own unique policies around its national interests. It emerged assertively and became a regional power. Turkey’s transformation into a regional power has changed the equations in the international arena. It has also caused substantial disturbances. A Turkey which is trapped in dependency, a Turkey which is predictable, and a Turkey which takes orders completely from certain Western capitals was a Turkey, preferable to some external groups. But our President’s political leadership and his political philosophy that he openly declared to our nation and our people was based exactly on the fight against this approach. Fighting, struggling with this approach continuously, our President's political philosophy became victorious and Turkey enjoyed autonomy in the economy and foreign policy, as well as security policies. This process worked together with the process of secession from tutelage. It worked together with a democratisation process."
Stating that Turkey was going through a process where people were placed at the centre of power, which in turn drew the picture of Turkey’s transformation, Altun noted that Turkey has become a regional power as a strategic result of this transformation,
Altun said that Turkey now aimed to become a global power as an effective actor in its region and that the steps taken towards this end have caused unrest.
"If you are involved in a power struggle, if you say that you are also in this struggle, you should not wait for someone to say, 'Come and sit in the seat of honour.' There is a struggle in question here," said Altun.
Stating that they saw this process of struggle in the blocks they tried to put on Turkey, what happened in the last seven to eight years was a summary of that and the Gezi attempt in 2013 was an attempt to prevent Turkey’s step towards becoming a global power from a regional power, Altun added that December 17-25 conspiracy attempt and October 6-8 events were other repercussions of that fact.
Altun pointed out that DAESH, PKK and FETO terrorist organisations with different orientations that gather and act together and engage in successive terrorist activities in Turkey were another repercussion of that.
Underlining that the July 15 coup attempt was a step against Turkey’s strategic position in the international arena, Altun said that President Erdoğan's leadership in that sense was about strengthening and bolstering Turkey's development, while he faced challenges and obstacles.
"Those who paved the way for street riots and coup attempts are not eliminated"
Prof. Fahrettin Altun stated that those who tried to produce these obstacles, to put such blocks, who paved the way for many negative incidents in Turkey ranging from street riots to coup attempts, to terrorist activities have not been eliminated, and continued his speech as follows:
"These groups are still out there. They are making efforts to maintain their anti-Turkey position somewhere else. The instrument they use in their fight is to declare and conduct a negative communication and information war against Turkey – to carry out black propaganda and disinformation activities. We, of course, have to stand against them. This fight cannot be a reactionary and reactive fight. It must be a proactive fight. Considering it from this point of view, the Strategic Communications and Crisis Management Department is positioned to carry out activities against the black propaganda war against Turkey in the international arena to perform this very function. It is a structure established to clearly identify the collaborators of those who carry out black propaganda activities and to fight their collaborators on behalf of the state, on behalf of people. This is a step, a structure that will strengthen our democracy, our country. It wouldn’t be meaningful to assign a different meaning to that, to be disturbed by it, unless your heart was in the right place. If you adopt this propaganda war, the war of attrition conducted against Turkey, if you welcome this with such different political-ideological motives even though you are in Turkey, operating in Turkey, then, of course, you will be uncomfortable with this step, this activity. Our President took this step of establishing such a structure to provide a more effective structuring to this information war, the war against black propaganda."
Regarding the criticism on this structure, Altun noted that such a department, first of all, revealed that it was not a country, where the fifth column activities could be carried out and where different countries can act as the influence operatives under different professional names.
"Public is being misled with statements that there will be psychological operations"
Altun stated that those who tried to mislead the public by saying that direct psychological operation and war would be carried out with this Department confessed that “We are from a culture where psychological operation against the people in Turkey was carried out for years before 2002”, and claimed that "This culture that the state carried out against people for a while is on the agenda again".
Stating that such an attempt was made to defend the interests of the state on behalf of the people and the nation, Altun said, “While some people are waging a propaganda war, terrorist organizations are waging a propaganda war, the mentors of terrorist organizations are trying to turn over these discourses to us through media outlets in some capitals, some of their collaborators are carrying out the fifth column activity here; it is out of the question for our state to merely watch them as they are speeding up these activities. There is an ongoing activity in the field of media here. Obviously, we have to act as a public authority.”
“I consider this a campaign of attrition”
Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun indicated that he benefited a lot from criticism on the directorate and himself throughout his professional life, and that criticism was very valuable in politics, adding that criticism should be separated from insults, slanders, unfounded allegations and systematic lie campaigns.
Stressing that he has also faced qualified criticism, Altun made the following remarks:
“While we are striving for the goals set by our President for our directorate and the ideals we are trying to achieve in this direction, it is not possible to see this as criticism when you are dealing with unfounded claims and lies. I consider this a campaign of attrition. I also think that we have not given any credence to this campaign by no means to date. The entire public also saw that attempts were made to intervene in our private lives that should not have been in any way, and that we were subject to a war of attrition with unacceptable approaches.”
Stressing that he has not issued any statements so far and that he has not made the public engaged in any way with the unfounded allegations that he has faced individually, Altun said that the directorate and himself have made statements regarding the unfounded allegations against the directorate and that he was saddened since he kept the public engaged while there were much more important and critical issues.
Stating that their job is to promote the country, fight against the black propaganda towards the country, make the relationship and interaction between the country and the state more qualified, and establish the state’s unity of discourse, Altun said that they were the steps for the benefit of the nation and the state.
Stressing that they were exerting efforts not to become embarrassed to the President and the nation, Altun said, “These efforts made to intimidate, downgrade and silence me and my other colleagues in my directorate do not affect us. We do not take steps backward concerning our efforts and intentions.”
Underlining that the unfounded allegations were set up and instructions were given in certain centres, Altun said that the public received the repercussions of substantial smear campaigns that were initiated.
Noting that the International Conference on the Eastern Mediterranean organized by the Directorate of Communications was held to inform the world on Turkey’s policy on Eastern Mediterranean, Altun added that during the conference, Turkey’s arguments were announced to the world, and cooperation established through these kinds of organizations could be utilized in favour of the country.
Upon a question of whether or not the opening of the Russian Twitter account by the Directorate of Communications has a special meaning, Altun pointed out that Russia was the country with which Turkey has established important strategic relations. Stating that the Directorate of Communications was conducting activities nearly in 30 languages, Altun stressed that they were also trying to convey the agendas of different public opinions to Turkey.
Altun stressed that they prepared press reviews and that they saw the benefits of social networks established in terms of improving bilateral relations. Stating that they were trying to convey Turkey's arguments in a way to attract the attention of the public in other countries, Altun said that their most important function was to enable Turkey to express itself.
Underlining that Turkey was giving a struggle in an important arena, Altun said, “This is a fight conducted with strong political leadership. We attain the international reputation of success in this sense thanks to this struggle. The acquisitions received by Turkey in the field and consequently gained on the table have repercussions also on the communication side. In this respect, yes, public diplomacy is very vital, but the most critical element to us, especially our public diplomacy activities, is the leader diplomacy.”
Altun stated that they prepared booklets in languages of foreign leaders with whom President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would hold meetings, and noted the following:
“Through the leader diplomacy and the diplomacy conducted by our President, we, in the international arena, got through to an upper league in real terms. As of now, Turkey has become the country, whose opinion should be certainly taken during the emerging crises in the world’s basic and critical issues. This is realized thanks to the active, entrepreneurial foreign policy carried out by our President and the leader diplomacy conducted by him.”
Stating that the opportunities offered by the latest technology are used at Digital Display Centres, Altun said that such centres established in different regions made presentations about the agenda for the citizens.
Activities carried out by the AA and TRT
Upon a question, Director of Communications Altun reiterated that the Anadolu Agency (AA) and Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) were Turkey’s deep-rooted institutions. Stressing that the AA and TRT are the critical institutions in conveying Turkey’s arguments to the world, Altun said the following:
“Publications carried out in different languages by Anadolu Agency are at the position of extremely critical media to convey Turkey's arguments to the world. The AA’s photo service, its network all over the world, have moved it to a highly critical and distinguished place. Similarly, TRT, especially in recent periods, together with TRT World and TRT Arabic, reached a very serious point regarding disseminating Turkey’s arguments into the international arena. We attach great importance to these two concepts: reputation and trust. No matter what happens, all our institutions are exerting and should exert great efforts to increase Turkey's prestige and boost confidence for Turkey. We are putting forth all our efforts in this regard. Our President is constantly putting this goal in front of us, we have to go further and work even harder.”
Turkey-EU relations
Upon a question of whether or not a decision on sanctions against Turkey is expected from the European Union meetings, Altun said: “We have no such an expectation. That kind of step would be one of the most irrational steps to be taken in the history of international relations.”
Noting that President Erdoğan is sustaining his bilateral dialogues, Altun continued as follows:
“The perspective put forth and the message given by our President regarding the Turkey-Europe relations is very clear and obvious. This is a message that is known by our public closely in all aspects. The journey made by Turkey in its national interests’ axis is a journey that should be also adopted by the European countries when Turkey’s foreign policy and rational leadership are in question. However, sometimes there may be negative approaches against Turkey when they are acting with some calculations made due to the relations that they have unfortunately entered in their narrow areas for the sake of small benefits. We are sending a very clear and obvious message. Europe’s security starts from Turkey. Strong Europe-Turkey relations are achievements also for the European countries as well as for Turkey. With the point that it reached, the position that it attained, the capabilities and opportunities that it gained, Turkey is a chance for Europe. In this sense, Europe must see and consider this.”
President Erdoğan's diplomacy traffic
Fahrettin Altun said that President Erdoğan has sustained his diplomacy with the leaders in every platform amid his busy schedule. Altun added that before the Presidential elections, Erdoğan said, “I will be a president who runs around and sweats,” and that Erdoğan had “busy working days and endless energy.”
Stating that Erdoğan considers his every day as a "race to serve the country" and tries not to spend even minute in vain, Altun said that he held talks with leaders of countries on the bus, whenever necessary, or by pausing a critical meeting.
Altun underlined that President Erdoğan had “comprehensive knowledge on his file” and that he could rapidly hold meetings with his interlocutors, as he was prepared for the issues.
Altun recalled the following remarks made by Erdoğan, "Turkey has seized the opportunity of being placed in the core of the international arena maybe for the first time since 1945,” and noted the following:
There is a chaotic international ground. In this sense, there is no longer a unipolar world. There is an international atmosphere with crises to many countries. Concerning the utilization of opportunities in such an atmosphere, very important steps could be taken under the leadership of our President. As our President believes that the process should be utilized very well, he prefers an open and clear relationship and communication with his counterparts in line with the approach, ‘Turkey certainly has a voice regarding the fundamental issues and it should convince its counterparts to ensure that they are aware of this approach and act accordingly’ firstly in our region and then in the global arena. Obviously, it brings along very intense diplomacy.”
Pelosi's remarks
When reminded of Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi's description of Turkey as a "bad example," Fahrettin Altun characterized these remarks as "careless."
Altun said that Pelosi’s position required her not to leave him unanswered and made the following remarks:
“Turkey has an extremely democratic history. However, this democratic past has been interrupted by coups. So which actors are behind these coups? When you consider in this sense, the transition of power from one government to another happens with the people’s will. The exception to this is the coups. The public is well aware of who was behind these coups. Therefore, it should be recalled. The strength of the democracy and culture of Turkey was announced to the friends and foes alike around the world on July 15. The persons behind the July 15 coup and invasion attempt are also a sign that should be left here as a question mark. Basically, we have to say this very openly and clearly. Unfortunately, we regretfully saw that Pelosi attempted to act as the spokesperson of the anti-Turkey lobby. This can also be read as an attempt to intervene in the relationship of our President with the US President, and also as an attempt to intervene in the relations between the two countries. I hope that the executive organs in the US will respond to this negative discourse.”
Stating that the anti-Turkey lobby in the US continued to operate especially through media networks and think tanks, Altun said that these actors exerted efforts to undermine Turkey's position amid the power struggle in the international arena.
"There is a Turkey which has recovered itself from the dependence trap”
Altun underlined that the criticism against Turkey was totally invalid and added the following:
“At this point, there are aspirations that Turkey will give up on its claims, fall into the dependency trap again, in other words, do politics on the axis of a Western paradigm unquestioningly, as it has done in the past. As of now, there is a new paradigm in Turkey. There is a Turkey which has recovered itself from the dependence trap. There is a genuine and autonomous Turkey in foreign policy, the economy and security policies. While doing this, there is a leader who gets enormous support from his people. Of course, there is a struggle for attrition here, and these are the elements of this struggle for attrition. We have to explain it to the Turkish public very well, and also inform the US public on Turkey’s arguments, despite all these jamming elements.”
Stating that they have organized books, social media campaigns, conferences, panels, workshops and meetings to mention Turkey’s arguments and approaches in the short term, Altun said that they have carried out strategic communication campaigns in the medium term. Altun noted that they should also use such platforms as movies and series at that point, adding that they would invest in basic strategic actors in the long term, and thus they exerted efforts to develop networking to turn them into sympathetic actors in Turkey.
Altun stated that Turkey has put up a good fight under the leadership of President Erdoğan and that the success achieved by this has caused discomfort in the western capitals, and added that the world public should be told and convinced that Turkey has always been an effective country in its region.