Addressing attendees at an award ceremony on Wednesday, Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan emphasized the shocking inaction of numerous powerful nations in response to
Israel's violent assaults in
Gaza, calling it a disgrace to humanity.
"History will judge this
disgraceful scene, those who caused it, and those who tried to legitimize it by turning a blind eye in the way they deserve," Erdoğan said in his remarks while referring to
Israel's genocide-level attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Erdoğan
laid out these statements in his speech:
"We witness horrifying attitudes in the face of the crimes against humanity committed in
Gaza. Indeed, those who can prevent the massacre in
Gaza are not truly willing to do so. In fact, anyone with sincerity does not have the opportunity to do so. Everyone is aware of what is happening there. It is shameful for the prestigious governments of so many states in the world to remain helpless in the face of
Israel's savage attacks built on massacre and theft. History will judge this disgraceful scene, those who caused it, those who turned a blind eye to it, and those who tried to legitimize it in the way they deserve.
We believe that this judgment should be made immediately without leaving it to history. The initiatives we have started are gaining
stronger support worldwide. Hopefully, 2024 will be a year when the
oppressors receive the punishment they deserve, and the wounds of the oppressed are healed.
While
Türkiye has been implementing the most important democracy and development initiatives in its republican history, it has also made the most significant investments in civilization and historical heritage. We have been striving to reveal and preserve the traces of all societies, states, and civilizations that have existed in these lands from centuries before the common era throughout all of Anatolia.
Regardless of their ideology, belief, or sect, we opened the way for those who want to express themselves in any field of culture and art. We appreciated and encouraged the efforts of our youth who wanted to express themselves, no matter how different they might seem to us. Without forgetting that the world rises on
local colors and productions in the globalizing world, we supported our citizens' efforts to embrace all of humanity along with their own community.
In the face of applications of technology, such as artificial intelligence, challenging our perceptions, our
most important strength is to keep open and develop ways that preserve and enhance humanity's original creative ability.
We prepare our roadmaps with the understanding that those who develop software algorithms and those who produce works that nourish our
intellectual and emotional geography are essentially the same human being. With this understanding, we make the greatest investments in technology, culture and art, and all other aspects of life as conditions permit.
Whether we look at a
technopark where hundreds or thousands of minds are working diligently or a conservatory or a cultural and artistic venue where hundreds or thousands of hearts beat, we approach them in the same way.
However, despite this, if the production of culture and art is not at the level we desire, we must think about the reasons very well, contemplate them, and especially discuss the
cost of ideological solidarity for our country. I believe that we urgently need to confront the reality of ideological tribes that homogenize, sterilize, and keep under pressure and domination the world of culture, art, and academia.
In Italy, there is an inscription on a wall from the 15th century that says: 'The capable do not want, the willing cannot, the
knowledgeable do not, the doers do not know, and thus the world is going bad.'
The root of the issue in our country is precisely this vicious cycle expressed here. In every field from
politics to literature, from art to craftsmanship, we face a strange picture where the capable do not want, the knowledgeable do not do, and the doers do not know.
Unfortunately, we witness that our youth, who are determined to
change this course, are not putting in enough effort, not showing enough courage. In the coming period, we will activate more
mechanisms to mobilize our youth in this direction and be in closer contact with them. Without replacing the
narrow-minded and factional understanding with a more pluralistic, more inclusive, more freedom-oriented, and more merit-based approach, we cannot achieve our goals."
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, killing at least 19,667 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 52,586 others, according to health authorities in the enclave.
The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins with half of the coastal territory's housing stock damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely-populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.
Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack, while more than 130 hostages remain in captivity.
