Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused social media sites of considering themselves above the law.
In a speech delivered at a media Oscar awards ceremony at the presidential complex on Wednesday evening, Erdogan stated that Turkey will not succumb to the pressures of social media companies that view themselves as above the law concerning the rights of our people. Erdogan's remarks come in light of social media companies' failure to implement almost any of the Turkish court's decisions regarding the crackdown on accounts that glorify terrorism and violence.
Erdogan continued, stating: "We do not allow terrorism within our borders, and therefore we cannot accept propaganda for it in the virtual world." During his speech, Erdogan addressed the mothers' sit-in of fighters who joined the Kurdistan Workers' Party "PKK," saying: "The mothers who are on sit-in have broken the wall of fear and revealed the bloody face of the terrorist organization 'PKK'."
He added that Turkey's ongoing struggle against those he labeled "packs of murderers" will triumph with the support of the mothers, asserting, "There is no place for terrorism and violence in the future of this country."
Erdogan also criticized media institutions that he claimed have "turned into propaganda agencies for terrorists in the Qandil Mountains" and attempted to distort the image of this innocent act (the sit-in) with the news they published. He also criticized so-called human rights associations that provide voluntary legal services to the separatist organization but have become blind and deaf to the cries of those mothers. The mothers continue their sit-in in front of the "HDP" (Peoples' Democratic Party) building, which they accuse of being involved in the kidnapping of their children and forcing them into the ranks of the separatist organization.
