Following the appointment of a trustee to Halk TV, the YENİ Party had called for a rally in front of the channel's building. Citizens gathered in front of Halk TV for the aforementioned rally.
YENİ Party Istanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik read the letter from IMM Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu:
"I send my warmest greetings and love from Silivri. I embrace you with longing. Even though I cannot be with you today, I know that we are of one heart. With your resistance, your solidarity, and your prayers, you are giving strength to me and my fellow travelers. You are not among those who remain silent in the face of injustice; you stand on the side of justice, equality, and rights. I am glad you exist. Thank you, may you live on.
Turkey is going through historic days today. All forms of opposition, the free press, artists, and non-governmental organizations are being silenced by a politicized judiciary. Everyone who objects to inequality, injustice, and the seizure of the nation's property, votes, and will is being imprisoned without evidence or proof. The main opposition party is being declared void, and trustees are being appointed to municipalities. Journalists who tell the people the truth are being torn from their families and children and imprisoned. Newspapers, television channels, and social media accounts are being blacked out one by one. Now, by what a coincidence, just as I am about to present my defense, Halk TV, the strongest voice of the free press, has been silenced by a trustee.
'REMEMBER, THE FEAR OF ONE WHO BETRAYS THEIR PEOPLE IS LIKE NO OTHER FEAR'
My voice is banned, my image is banned, my social media accounts are banned, the book in which I present my defense is banned, and Halk TV, which follows and reports on my trial, is banned. But do not be afraid; bans have never discouraged us, and they never will. They will want the robbery of the century, the fund scandal, to remain unheard. They will want to hide the coup they carried out against the national will through a politicized judiciary. They will want to keep hidden how they filled their pockets while the nation struggles with hunger. They will want Halk TV not to bring the truth to the people. Why? Because they are afraid. They are afraid of the people, of the people's slap. Remember, “the fear of one who betrays their people is like no other fear”.
'YOU CANNOT BLACK OUT THE TRUTH'
History is full of those who destroyed justice to intimidate their rivals, those who silenced the press, burned books, restricted freedoms, and imprisoned their opponents one by one. I ask now, where are they? They are where they deserve to be, in the trash heap of history. Each of their reigns came to an end one by one. But sooner or later, the people won. They will win. You cannot silence the people, you cannot black out the truth.
'OUR CHILDREN WILL REMEMBER AND TELL OF US NOT WITH SHAME, BUT WITH PRIDE'
Those who sign irregular decisions today with the power they derive from the government, those who stand by the oppressive regime and fill their pockets, those who attain positions and ranks they do not deserve, will tomorrow resort to denial in shame. We will say; “we fought with our honor, we stood tall, we resisted.” We will say; “they tried to silence us, but we did not stay silent, we paid the price but we did not give up.” Our children will remember and tell of us not with shame, but with pride.
'THEY ARE DECEIVING THEMSELVES'
Halk TV may be closed today. They may believe they have silenced Halk TV, its honorable employees, and Cafer Mahiroğlu. But they are mistaken. Because the people hear what is happening with their conscience above all else. They see the inequality and injustice with their clean hearts! The people feel the plunder, the lies, and the corruption in their pockets, at their tables, in their homes, on the streets, and in the markets… The time for this government has expired. They see this, they know this. They think that if I increase the pressure and the persecution, if I arrest Ekrem and silence Halk TV, I will change the inevitable. They are deceiving themselves.
'THE PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY MADE THEIR DECISION'
The people have already made their decision. The people have long chosen freedom, equality, brotherhood, justice, and democracy, not oppression, persecution, inequality, injustice, and autocracy.
We are always with Halk TV and its honorable employees. You will never be able to silence the free press, you will not be able to muffle our voice, you will not be able to black out the truth. The people will protect both Halk TV and their own will forever.
Greetings to those who fight for justice, democracy, and freedom.
"WE STAND WITH THE NEARLY 200 EMPLOYEES OF HALK TV!"
YENİ Party Chairman Özgür Özel addressed the citizens:
"We are here tonight not as a party rally, but to protest the trustee appointed to Halk TV, Turkey's most-watched news channel. We stand with the nearly 200 employees of Halk TV!
This country has not forgotten Uğur Mumcu, Hrant Dink, or Ahmet Taner Kışlalı. The AK Party has always been against press freedom. It created a pool-media system. It dealt with those who opposed it, tried to intimidate them. It told journalists, 'either you defend me or you will lose your bread.' In the September 12 era, soldiers would block certain news stories before they were published. Journalists would leave that part blank to protest.
It is not enough; they are destroying media organizations that are not their own. They are defended by their cronies. We are here for those who do their jobs with honor. From Merdan Yanardağ to Murat Ağırel, to İsmail Arı, who is being silenced today… Greetings to all the prisoners! Greetings to all the journalists whose names I have mentioned and those I could not!
Halk TV was a place where press workers struggled despite all the difficulties, in defiance of what the dark order imposed.
When the Chairman who sits in Atatürk's seat was subjected to a lynching attempt in Çubuk, Halk TV was there. It is painful that that person has now become one of the names targeting Halk TV. While all the voices of the opposition are in this square, those who appear to be from the opposition but target Halk TV, and then shed crocodile tears in the face of social reaction when a trustee is appointed to Halk TV, cannot be with the opposition in this square, and they will not be.
The trustee had two short-term goals. One was to prevent Ekrem İmamoğlu's defense from being heard, and the other was to silence the most-watched news channel that was pursuing the fund scandal, the scandal of the century. The medium and long-term calculations are much darker. They intend to completely cut off the voice of the opposition. That is why the attack on the press is not independent of the attack on the opposition.
We declare and expose here that the action taken against Halk TV is not a financial investigation involving Mahiroğlu; it is an attempt to silence the press and obstruct the public's right to receive news under this guise. We are standing up for all channels, from T24 to Tele1, and all blocked platforms. We do not forget İMC or Hayat TV.
I am addressing A Haber from here. I do not call for violence or chaos. But know this: I am calling for struggle, for the streets, for the squares! And let me say this, do not underestimate us. We are on the side of peace and brotherhood. If you are trying to pull us off the streets with fake news, do not underestimate us. If we call for the streets, you cannot continue your fake news. Journalists are taking to the streets on Saturday. If you are a journalist, you will support this too. Of course, we will be in solidarity with journalists. Turkey will certainly emerge from this dark winter. No one will be able to stand in front of the rushing flood of the nation."
News Source: 12punto
