They went silent when those they called ‘spies’ were released
In July the authorities detained 10 human rights activists who were attending a workshop on Büyükada, an island near Istanbul.
Many newspapers have written horrible headlines concerning this “Büyükada trial.”
Their malice has found numerous scandals to pronounce:
“Gory coup meeting in a hotel in Büyükada!” “They will terrorize the streets, they are planning something similar to the Gezi protests!”
“There are CIA agents and English Intelligence behind them!” “The documents prove treachery, the treason map lies on the table!”
The result? They’ve all been released.
However, an interesting situation has come to light!
After the release of the people they had called “chaos planners,” “new Gezi schemers,” “agents,” “spies” and “those who put the treason map on the table,” those who wrote these headlines fell silent.
They don’t say anything.
Why is that? Is it due to shame? Or is it because they cannot find anything to say?
After the release of the Büyükada arrestees, I can comfortably say this:
Osman Kavala, a Turkish businessman who was detained in Istanbul on Oct. 19 and about whom there wasn’t a bad thing they hadn’t said, is due to be released as soon as possible.
I say the Good Party (İyi Parti) will succeed!
I have solid data.
If the Good Party had no chance of success, there would not have been anyone saying “they stole their logo from us” or “this is a project party.” No-one would continue their efforts to humiliate and disdain.
Instead they would simply say “congratulations” and move on.
This is especially true regarding those in power, where I see an anger that cannot be hidden and a struggle to make insinuations that cannot be restrained.
Therefore, I say the “Good Party (İyi Parti) will succeed.”
Melih Gökçek
I have received a telephone call from Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek who recently resigned.
After having a short period of doubts regarding whether to answer the phone or not, I answered his call.
After the greetings, Gökçek started the subject kindly but firmly.
“For days you have been making fun of me on television,” he said.
Immediately, I tried to soften him with a little praise.
“What can we do? Your ratings are high,” I replied.
And of course, he calmed down. Then he said:
“If you ask whether Melih Gökçek would be happy if the ruling Justice and Development Party [AK Party] lost the majority vote in the province of Ankara… Write this down: I swear I would not be happy. On the contrary, I would be very sad.”
This short telephone call has led me to conclude that Melih Gökçek has recovered from the initial shock and is healthy again!
Is this how polemics are done, Mr. Kemal?
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said: “We have betrayed Istanbul and we still do so.”
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu subsequently made a poorly-conceived quip.
He said: “Erdoğan has confessed he is a traitor, traitors cannot rule the government.”
And when Kılıçdaroğlu said this, of course the incident got out of hand.
It reached the point of “You cannot call Erdoğan a traitor,” to which the response was: “I can my friend, I can,” and the arguments continue.
But if Kılıçdaroğlu had said: “It is nice you can criticize yourself by saying you have betrayed Istanbul… I admire your self-critique. But what does it mean if you still continue to commit betrayal? Why do you continue betraying Istanbul? Why don’t you stop betraying Istanbul? Why don’t you stop it? Is there someone holding you back?”
They would not have found a single word to say back.
I wish Kılıçdaroğlu would learn how to engage more strategically in polemics.
