Oktay Saral had targeted him: Fatih Altaylı's striking response regarding Deniz Göktaş
The post by Oktay Saral, Chief Advisor to AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, targeting the arrested comedian Deniz Göktaş as a "lousy so-called comedian," has sparked controversy. Journalist Fatih Altaylı stated that he agrees with Saral's comment that "a comedian should not occupy the agenda" but for a different reason, emphasizing that the investigation and arrest process initiated against Göktaş has caused the country's more important issues to be pushed into the background.
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AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Chief Advisor Oktay Saral targeted the arrested comedian Deniz Göktaş.
In a post on his X account, Saral stated, “It is a disgrace for Turkey that a lousy so-called comedian occupies this country’s agenda for days.”
A striking comment on this outburst from Saral came from journalist Fatih Altaylı.
“I never, ever thought that I would have an opinion similar to, if not the same as, Chief Presidential Advisor Oktay Saral,” said journalist Fatih Altaylı, who continued with the following remarks:
"Oktay Saral said regarding Deniz Göktaş, 'It is a disgrace for Turkey that a lousy so-called comedian occupies this country’s agenda for days. The issue this nation should be discussing is not three or five provocative words, but Turkey’s rising vision, regional leadership, and strong position in the international arena.'
I phrase this sentence as follows: 'It is a disgrace for Turkey that a show performed by a comedian on stage occupies this country’s agenda. This is not the issue we should be discussing for the sake of the country’s future.'
While we were talking about Deniz Göktaş being detained, arrested, and the trustee forcibly meeting with him, we could not talk about how Turkey—which claims to be the 'protector' of Syria, has spent an estimated over 100 billion dollars on Syrians over the years, and has endangered its internal peace—was not given a single cent in the deals signed with American, French, and Qatari companies for hydrocarbon reserves in its territorial waters.
We could not talk about the EU report, which is full of accusations, some justified but most unjustified.
We could not talk about the two most important defenses in the Silivri hearings and what happened in the courtroom.
We could not talk about the sale of Aselsan to American funds, which was brought to the agenda by Oda TV but denied by the Presidential Communications Directorate when I and Sözcü newspaper asked about it.
Let alone these high-level matters, we could not even talk about the June inflation coming in low and, consequently, civil servant salary raises remaining low.
Of course, the media close to the government could also talk about the topics Oktay Saral mentioned; there is no harm in that, but they could not be talked about either.
Many other important issues fell off the agenda without being discussed in this turmoil.
Yet, if the trolls had not immediately taken action regarding Deniz Göktaş, if such an investigation had not been opened, and if a comedian had not been sent to prison for the meanings he did or did not load into his show, Turkey could have discussed much more important issues.
Who knows, maybe that was what was intended.”