Erdoğan condemns 'global inaction over Gaza massacre'

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has criticized major world powers for their failure to intervene in the ongoing Gaza conflict, condemning what he described as a shameful display of helplessness "in the face of Israel's brutal attacks on Palestine."

In an address at the Turkish presidency's annual culture and arts awards ceremony on Dec. 20, Erdoğan expressed his dismay over the lack of action by nations with the means to prevent the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

"In every field from politics to literature, we are faced with a strange picture where those who can don't want to, those who know don't do, and those who do don't know," Erdoğan remarked.

He highlighted the dire situation in Gaza, calling it a "shame for humanity" that powerful nations remained inactive in the face of what he characterized as Israel's "brutal attacks based on massacre." The president expressed his hope that the new year "would bring justice for the oppressed and healing for their wounds."

The awards ceremony recognized contributions in various fields, with recipients including theologian Süleyman Uludağ, historian Ali Birinci, singer Emel Sayın, painter İlhami Atalay, caricaturist Hasan Aycın, director Sami Şekeroğlu, digital artist Refik Anadol, architect Sinan Genim and writer Nazan Bekiroğlu.

In addition to honoring living artists, the presidency granted loyalty awards to Turkish culture's deceased figures, including poet Attila İlhan, singer Barış Manço, historian İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı, actor and director Muhsin Ertuğrul and writer Samiha Ayverdi.

Erdoğan lauded the cultural and artistic community's contributions to the nation. The president also criticized past administrations in Türkiye for what he deemed discriminatory social engineering, emphasizing the need for a more inclusive and merit-based approach to cultural and artistic development.

"In many parts of the world, we see countries that tremble over their riches in every field, from architecture to literature. In our country, the accumulations of our nation have been destroyed and humiliated as signs of backwardness," Erdoğan said.

Calling for a departure from "narrow and factionalist approaches," he argued for a more pluralistic, inclusive, libertarian and merit-based cultural strategy.

"We are trying to embrace all the values of our country without limiting ourselves to narrow perspectives," he argued. "We have paved the way for everyone who wants to express themselves in any field of culture and art, regardless of their ideas. We have tried to show that it is possible to keep centuries-old values alive through change."