Erdoğan's first statement on the Instagram ban: Social media companies have become militant

AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the Human Rights Training Program at the AKP Headquarters.

In his speech there, Erdoğan addressed the Instagram ban implemented in the country. Stating that social media companies have become militant, Erdoğan said, "They have made it their duty to immediately censor even a simple sentence criticizing Israel."

"WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO ESTABLISH THE DESIRED COOPERATION"

Expressing that they are facing a digital fascism, Erdoğan said that social media companies do not show the same sensitivity in complying with rules in Turkey as they do in the US and Europe.

"We have not yet been able to fully establish the desired cooperation," said Erdoğan, adding, "If Turkey's legitimate demands are met and its sensitivities are respected, the issue will resolve itself."

TARGETED THE OPPOSITION

Targeting the opposition, which criticized the government over the ban imposed on Instagram, Erdoğan said, "Those who do not criticize the disgrace of social media platforms, those who do not speak out against the fascism these platforms stir up, rush to their keyboards and line up to complain about Turkey from their social media accounts."

"SOME WITH CORRUPT CHARACTER..."

Erdoğan also gave a harsh response to the criticisms regarding the 1-day National Mourning declared in Turkey following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

"We showed our solidarity with the Palestinian people by declaring a one-day national mourning in our country," said Erdoğan, adding, "Some with corrupt character could not digest the attention we showed him. Were we supposed to get permission from you to decide these things? We received the necessary permission from our nation and we are taking our steps accordingly."

Here are the highlights from Erdoğan's speech:

Here are the highlights from President Erdoğan's speech:

"As a cadre that has signed off on silent revolutions in human rights and freedoms over the last 22 years, I believe that our training program will contribute to a better understanding of our party's history full of achievements. The preservation of the idea of human rights is the guarantee of social peace.

We are all following the developments around us together. World politics is turning one of its sharpest corners. There is a serious power vacuum in the international system. We are facing not only a power vacuum but also a loss of morality and conscience. Scenes of blood, oppression, and war have become almost commonplace.

"THE GLOBAL SYSTEM HAS RAISED THE WHITE FLAG OF BANKRUPTCY"

No effort has been made to revise the global system on the axis of justice. Every crisis that has erupted in the face of this indifference has, unfortunately, made us miss the previous one. However, with the Gaza crisis, the global system has raised the white flag of bankruptcy. Gaza has unmasked the whole world and revealed how hollow the institutions that have been held up as examples to us for decades really are.

"THE HEART CANNOT BEAR THE IMAGES OF MASSACRE"

Words are no longer enough to describe the genocide the Palestinian people are subjected to in Gaza. The heart cannot bear to look at the images of massacres that are added to every day. None of our hearts can bear to watch the images of innocent babies with their heads severed, children crying at their father's grave saying they can no longer bear this burden, and mothers trying to survive under bombs.

It has been exactly 10 months since the genocide began. More than 16 thousand children have died, 40 thousand innocent people have been martyred. There are nearly 100 thousand wounded, some of them seriously. Israel is not only killing Gazans with bombs. It is also massacring them by leaving them hungry, thirsty, and without food.

"THEY WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO CLEANSE THE BLACK STAIN"

Western countries are already accomplices in Israel's genocide policy. They provide every support so that the Netanyahu administration can kill more children. They show this support openly, without feeling the need to hide it, by applauding the killers until their palms are swollen. I must give this warning clearly; history is recording very clearly who stands where. Just as those who enthusiastically applauded Hitler's genocide speech at the Reichstag wrote their names in history with shame, those who give a standing ovation to Netanyahu's lies will never be able to cleanse the black stain that has stuck to their hands for the rest of their lives.

No matter what they do, we have not been among the silent devils who have remained silent in the face of oppression until today, and we will not be from now on. In these difficult times when our humanity is being tested, we see it as our duty to the Palestinian people to shout out the truth and justice.

ISMAIL HANIYEH ASSASSINATION

We cannot read the martyrdom of our brother, Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran independently of that applause scene. Those terrible images have not only wounded the Palestinian people, but worse, they have spoiled Netanyahu. While the entire world public was waiting for Israel to be persuaded to a ceasefire, the result was the treacherous assassination of the negotiator. I wish God's mercy upon Ismail Haniyeh and offer my condolences to the Palestinian people. We were close witnesses to Ismail Haniyeh's efforts, his loyalty to the Palestinian cause, and his sincere affection for our nation.

We were planning to have Mahmoud Abbas speak in our parliament on the 15th. We said let's have our brother Ismail Haniyeh speak here too. We were even planning it with our Parliament Speaker, whether it should be in parliament or this hall of ours. The next day we heard of his martyrdom. Everyone who knew Haniyeh knew very well what a brave man of the cause he was.

"WE RECEIVED THE NECESSARY PERMISSION FROM OUR NATION"

We showed our solidarity with the Palestinian people by declaring a one-day national mourning in our country. Some with corrupt character could not digest the attention we showed him. Were we supposed to get permission from you to decide these things? We received the necessary permission from our nation and we are taking our steps accordingly.

TARGETED SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

Social media companies have become militant. They have made it their duty to immediately censor even a simple sentence criticizing Israel. We are facing a digital fascism that cannot tolerate and immediately bans photos of Palestinian martyrs, and markets this as freedom. Haniyeh's martyrdom has shown us that the limits of freedom of thought and expression in Western countries are determined by Israel's whims.

When it comes to Turkey, when it comes to the grievances of our citizens, and when it comes to fighting the catalog crimes we have, they consciously withhold the care they show in complying with the rules in America and Europe. We have not yet been able to fully establish the desired cooperation.

Turkey takes a step within the framework of its sovereign rights, implements a measure, but opposition parties that do not look at the pros and cons of the issue immediately stand up before the companies do. Those who do not criticize the disgrace of social media platforms, those who do not speak out against the fascism these platforms stir up, rush to their keyboards and line up to complain about Turkey from their social media accounts.

Pointing out the dangers posed by social media platforms is never censorship. The real censorship is closing one's eyes to them. We will not be part of such inconsistency. As a government, we have no problem with anyone's freedom, trade, or lifestyle. If Turkey's legitimate demands are met and its sensitivities are respected, the issue will resolve itself."

News Source: 12punto