TRT Director General Sobacı: “Blockades in world’s mind must be lifted”
ISTANBUL
Delivering an inaugural speech at the TRT World Forum, the 7th edition of which is being held this year with the theme “Thriving Together: Responsibilities, Actions and Solutions”, TRT Director General Mehmet Zahid Sobacı said “We reach all over the world with our vision of 'strong broadcast, strong impact', so that the rights and cause of the oppressed are heard. Because we believe that the blockades in the world’s mind must be lifted from now on.”
TRT World Forum, a TRT event that shapes the world agenda, is being held in İstanbul on 8-9 December with the theme "Thriving Together: Responsibilities, Actions and Solutions". Delivering an inaugural speech at the Forum, TRT Director General Mehmet Zahid Sobacı said that “TRT World Forum is an international platform where regional and global issues are discussed in depth with policy makers, journalists, academics, experts from the field, representatives from the public and private sector, and where possible solutions to problems are brought to attention, strengthening a basis of understanding. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of our Republic this year, our event will start with a special session where we will explain our vision of the Century of Türkiye, as well as our values and struggle for great Türkiye.”
"Understanding Türkiye is to comprehend the paths to fair, humane, and ethical solutions for regional and global issues."
TRT Director General Mehmet Zahid Sobacı said that Türkiye's achievements in all fields under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, especially in the defense industry, its humanitarian and moral stance, its principled policies, and the vision of a more just world for everyone will be discussed in the first session of the Forum. “Understanding Türkiye means understanding the paths to a just, humane, and moral solution to regional and global issues. In our forum, we will evaluate many issues from food, water, and energy security to artificial intelligence; from humanitarian crises to the global economy over the next two days as well as present our assessments and road maps. We will depict the current situation at regional and global levels, from Africa to the Americas, and from Asia to the Middle East. Our special session on Gaza indeed has a very pivotal place in this year's forum. We will once again present to the conscience of the international community the atrocities committed by Israel, and the cruelty that has been going on in Palestinian lands for decades. As a matter of fact, we are witnessing that the world has once again failed a very painful humanitarian test,” he added.
“A victim cannot be made from a killer, nor a killer from a victim”
Noting that the international media is trying to legitimize Israeli massacres, Sobacı added, “Israel has been committing a mass genocide against the people of Gaza since October 7. It commits crimes against humanity by destroying holy places, hospitals, schools, and refugee camps, without making any distinction among babies, children, women, or patients.
I must clearly state that the so-called universal values and concepts that countries taking a stance in favor of oppression behind are dripping blood… Those who try to 'manufacture consent’ to such a massacre should not forget that; "A victim cannot be made from a murderer, nor a murderer from a victim," he said.
“People from many countries watch TRT and Türkiye's broadcasts to learn the truth about Gaza”
Drawing attention to the fact that Türkiye's public broadcaster TRT makes great effort for a fairer representation in the field of international broadcasting and production through international events that have become global brands, such as the TRT World Forum, TRT Director General Sobacı continued as follows: “We look at the whole world through a fair viewfinder, not through filters; We report and broadcast based on the principle of fairness, regardless of the strong or weak actors. We prioritize our goal of being the voice of billions of people who are ignored in the world, on all our national and international channels, digital platforms, and in our content. We reach all corners of the world with our vision of 'strong broadcast, strong impact' to announce the rights and cause of the oppressed. Because we now do believe that 'the blockades in the world's mind should be lifted'."
Underlining that people from many countries today watch TRT and Türkiye's broadcasts to learn the facts about Gaza, Sobacı said, "Conscientious people who do not want to take part in the dark page of history get strength from Türkiye's voice and stance."
“Türkiye always stands up against oppression and stands by the oppressed"
Stating that President of the Republic of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has fought with all instruments to establish peace and preserved the dignity of humanity with his stance, Sobacı said that “To this end, we are organizing this event in Türkiye which is the conscientious voice of the world. Please know that the place where you share your ideas is Türkiye, which is renowned for its humanitarian efforts. It is a country which celebrated the 100th anniversary of its republic a month and a half ago; which has been striving for prosperity in this geography for a thousand years; which has always used its power, technology and will continue to do so in favor of the oppressed. Türkiye always stands up against oppression and stands by the oppressed. Türkiye also confronts those, who devour the idols they market as 'universal values' with their own hands when it comes down on to themselves and their interests, with their hypocrisy. We believe in the motto expressed by Cemil Meriç, 'Neutrality in the face of oppression is immorality.'
TRT Director General Mehmet Zahid Sobacı ended his speech by saying, “With this understanding, as TRT, we will not refrain for a moment from talking about Israeli oppression in Palestine, whether on television, our digital channels, or our international platforms such as TRT World Forum," and by expressing gratitude to participants from all around Türkiye and the world for their contributions to TRT World Forum and the future of the world.