Gani Rüzgar Şavata: Society must say stop

Aleyna Yılmaz/ 12punto

As reactions continue to pour in following the detention of Barış Pehlivan, Serhan Asker, and Seda Selek as part of the 'expert witness' investigation, director and actor Gani Rüzgar Şavata arrived in front of the Vatan Police Headquarters to show his support for the detained journalists.

Speaking to 12punto's Aleyna Yılmaz here, Şavata said the following:

The situation reached in Turkey today is where words end! Journalists and artists are being arrested, extrajudicial executions are taking place, and mayors are being detained. While those who lean on the regime can walk the streets freely, artists, athletes, and writers who are the mirror of society are prisoners; they have handcuffs on their hands and shackles on their feet, their mouths are taped shut, and they are being silenced!

There is no one here right now, but if we, as sensitive artists, have taken to the field, it means some nails have come loose, the concrete has cracked, and society must now say stop to this...

The country is in pain; people are in bread lines, people cannot sit in restaurants, they cannot walk around with their children. The situation the country has reached is dire. I am a director, I am a photographer; when you look through our eyes, we are facing a painful picture!

This regime system must go and democracy must come, and this will happen through unity and solidarity. The press and media are also banned and penalized...

This country is the most beautiful country in the world, these people are the most beautiful people in the world...

There are no doctors, students, or young people left in the country; they have all flocked abroad. Today, hospitals have been handed over to baby killers.

Where are the physicians Atatürk spoke of? They are abroad; those who remain here are baby executioners!

78 people burned; while a press conference is being held in the front, they are skiing in the back. It wasn't like this before; neighbors would turn off their radios and televisions in mourning. What have we become...

The minister is speaking in the front, they are skiing in the back; that slope should have been closed. They appeared before the public shedding crocodile tears; they are looking for the culprit among the people. Let someone come out and say 'I am guilty'...

They are also diverting the agenda; fires, earthquakes, the Erzincan landslide, mining accidents, and most recently terrorism are being discussed. The detention of journalists is also an attempt to change the agenda...

We will not be surprised if they detain us tomorrow too!

News Source: Aleyna Yılmaz