Speaking at the 7th Anatolian Media Awards Ceremony, President Erdoğan said: “The more effective and widespread the Anatolian media is, the stronger our democracy will be.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a speech at the 7th Anatolian Media Awards Ceremony at the Presidential Complex.
“THE ANATOLIAN MEDIA ALWAYS STOOD BY THE NATIONAL WILL AND DEMOCRACY”
Praising the achievements of the Anatolian Broadcasters Association, which represents 320 local and regional radios, televisions, newspapers and magazines, President Erdoğan said: “We welcome the association’s efforts in line with our nation and our nation’s long-standing values. The more effective and widespread the Anatolian media, which reflects Türkiye’s cultural richness, is, the stronger our democracy will be. The louder the Anatolian media’s voice is, the stronger our nation’s demands and expectations will echo.”
Highlighting the critical role of local media in correctly informing the public, President Erdoğan said: “At every critical milestone we passed from the Gezi incidents to 17-25 December attempt, from terrorist attacks to the treason on July 15, the Anatolian media always explicitly stood by the national will and democracy. We have personally observed the support of our local media at every step towards lifting the shadow of tutelage from the Turkish democracy.”
“EVERYONE CAN EXPRESS ANYTHING THEY WANT AS LONG AS THEY DO NOT PRAISE TERRORISM, PROMOTE VIOLENCE OR ENGAGE IN DISINFORMATION”
“The press in Türkiye in 2023 is much freer, more independent and more prestigious in the eyes of the public than the 90s, the 80s and the 70s. The media outlets have fully gained the competence to fulfil their primary duties in our era,” President Erdoğan said. “Everyone can write, say or express anything they want as long as they do not praise terrorism, promote violence or engage in disinformation. Those so-called reports, prepared at the order of those who long for the old Türkiye, do not change this fact. They have no real value in our eyes or in the eyes of our nation. We all know very well how fascistically those, who prepare reports about Türkiye on democracy, human rights and press freedom, behave when it comes to themselves and their own interests. Those, who protected the FETO members that openly published the state’s secret documents, as ‘journalists’, did not hesitate to close down media outlets for much more trivial matters.”
“Those, who ruthlessly criticized us in the aftermath of the July 15 coup attempt, when our 252 people died as martyrs in one night, caused quite a stir in the face of the ‘coup rumors’ in their own country,” President Erdoğan said.
“Those, who heroized the vandals that looted our shopkeepers’ properties during the Gezi incidents, immediately declared the ‘protestors’ to be terrorists when similar incidents took place in Paris and Washington. We have never heard or seen any media outlet which called the yellow wests that set the streets of Paris on fire ‘apostles of democracy’ or those who raided the US congress with guns ‘freedom fighters’,” President Erdoğan underlined.
“YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BLOCK TÜRKİYE’S PATH ANYMORE”
“We have been witnessing the same double standards in the process with regard to a social media company which recently changed hands. With whom this social media platform, which supposedly never compromised freedoms and personal privacy, collaborated, what they served behind the curtain, how the censored unfavorable persons and opinions are being revealed one by one. However, neither international media outlets nor human rights organizations are reacting to these scandals in any way. Those, who accuse Türkiye of censorship at every change they get, do not even say a word about those who committed a perfect example of censorship. Those, who usurped billions of people’s right to communicate, continue to preach democracy and freedoms as if nothing happened,” President Erdoğan said.
“Only these examples alone are enough to prove the tainted and dirty record of those, who criticize our country. None of them cares about defending freedoms, human rights or democracy. They only care about supporting their crooked order, and blocking such countries as Türkiye, who throw a wrench in their works, by using any means necessary, including lies and slanders. However, you will not be able to block Türkiye’s path anymore. That was the old Türkiye, Now, there is a new Türkiye, and the Century of the new Türkiye,” President Erdoğan said.
