Article 26

As media and communication systems students, I believe this article especially concerns us. Hopefully one day, I would like to be a journalist who is free to speak her mind, write or broadcast what matters but more importantly what the truth is. Sadly today, applying this article seems to be banned just like youtube, blogspot, blogger and all the other multimedia tools. Banning facebook and twitter in Turkey is also considered as hot topics. I cannot blame the government for this tragedy, none of us can. If our people are in search of a scapegoat, we are to blame. Our representatives try to sugar code the fact that they are banning all kinds of media tools that oppose to the actions of the government. The ones that are still allowed to broadcast distort the truth, bend the reality to serve the government’s best interest.

People who dared to criticize and ask the question: ‘What are you afraid of?’ are not only banned from newswriting and broadcasting, they are now banned from living as free men. Mustafa Balbay, the editor of Cumhuriyet has been arrested for almost 800 days now. This blockage only appears to exist in a dictatorial state. Are we aware that we are living in one? Freedom of expression is the most fundamental asset to a free, democratic country that is supposed to be protected by law. Today, it is almost impossible to write for masses. Gandhi once said: ‘You can only wake a person who is asleep; but if someone is pretending, it is impossible to wake that one.’ He was right. How many of us are pretending and ignoring the fact that our essential right has been taken away from us? I found a way to keep my blog alive, so I will keep writing and follow the law that gives me the right to speak my mind. The truth matters, so tell it.