Attack Dilruba

Dilruba Y. is a young, modern Turkish woman living in İzmir…

One day, a reporter from a YouTube channel called Tüylü Mikrofon approached her on the street and asked her about the Instagram ban…

She must have been fed up to the brim, so she let it all out… Here is exactly what she said, down to the last punctuation mark:

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“If we stand up in the middle of the 21st century, abandon the parliamentary system, and hand over the entire Republic of Turkey to one man, he will treat it like his father’s farm, like a barn. He keeps his own Instagram open, posts Friday messages, and there are even those who support this, saying, ‘Of course he will use it, of course he will open it’… Now, what I am about to say might be misunderstood or taken elsewhere; I don’t care at all. I mean, why am I mourning just because some Arab died? It doesn’t concern me! He uses Instagram himself, but he forces a ban on us for a week. I mean, officially for a week of mourning… If he weren’t ashamed, he’d make us hold the 20th-day and 40th-day memorial services too. There are influencers who use social media (I am not one of them, but). 90 percent of Turkey, and even the world, now makes a living through Instagram. You cannot just say one evening, ‘I shut it down, it’s done,’ without providing any justification, without providing any reason. One night he passes a law, he wants animals to die. He passes a law to slaughter animals in the name of God. One night the Istanbul Convention is revoked. One night he shuts down Instagram, he shuts down social media. Okay, we understand the country has been handed over to him, but it’s not his father’s farm… What he is doing is a coup! Shutting down social media is a coup, passing a law regarding the slaughter of animals is a coup. I mean, he is currently twisting everyone around his finger. This is very wrong. In no way, I mean, not even if he were the president, even if he were the owner of the world, in the Republic of Turkey (which, by the way, is a secular country), he cannot just shut down Instagram as he pleases. I also want to say this; there will be those who support it, and I don’t want it to be cut off in any way: You are morons! Because you have handed over all your freedom rights to a single person and because you worship him by placing him above God—you call us ‘Ataput’ (Atatürk-idol), you call us ‘ittapar’ (dog-worshipper)—because you place him above God, because you support the shutting down of social media and the slaughter of animals, you are all morons with brainwashed minds. I don’t want this to be cut off in any way. I emphasize that everyone who supports this is a moron.”

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Dilruba was detained for saying these words; she was brought to court and arrested.

The charges are insulting the President and publicly inciting the people to hatred and enmity…

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Where in these words is there “incitement of the people to hatred and enmity”?

She is not saying these words to law-abiding, sensible citizens!

She is saying them to the cult slaves who have reached the point of handing over all their freedom rights to a single person…

To the fake religious people who worship a servant created by God by placing him above God…

She is calling those who label people who think like her as ‘Ataput’ or ‘ittapar’—the enemies of Atatürk—‘morons’…

Well, what should we call those who do these things if not morons?

Super-intelligent?

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As for the allegation of “insulting the President”…

There is no insult, no profanity, and no degradation in Dilruba’s words…

Yes, she said “moron,” but she didn’t say it to the President…

Furthermore, she did not use the words that the President has used repeatedly: dignity-less, looter, miserable, pathetic, heedless, stupid, fool, ‘is it a woman or a girl, it’s not clear’…

Rotten, slut…

She didn’t use words like dishonorable, shameless, or lacking in decency…

There is someone who says all of these, but instead of being arrested, not even a single lawsuit can be filed against him:

And that, unfortunately, is the President of this country!

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Today, there are at least 40 million people in this country who have the right to vote and be elected who find Dilruba Y.’s words justified and say, “She didn’t even say enough”…

What are you going to do; are you going to lock us all up?

No…

You will only increase your bans to silence the growing social opposition, to muffle the voice of the street…

You will resort to violence and punishment.

But you will be left empty-handed, gentlemen, you will be left empty-handed…

I sign my name under the criticisms of Dilruba, whom I have never seen even once in my life… whose job, age, or hometown I do not know.

Moreover, I have been doing this since years before she was even born.

Are you going to lock me up now, too?

And then what…

If everyone starts signing their names under these words; what will you do then?

Let me give you the answer to my question:

You will go!

You will go, whether you like it or not.

And we will turn off all the taps behind you so that…

There will be no return for you!