'Shamelessness'

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The few words that Recep Tayyip Erdoğan blurted out during a live TV program, called the "TRT Common Program" where Erdoğan is using the means of the public broadcasting organization for himself unilaterally, revealed that the propaganda apparatus of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) was not bound by any kinds of moral or intellectual norms in its functioning.

The question Abdülkadir Selvi, who was in the role of the journalist in the program asked about Erdoğan accusing the Republican People's Party (CHP), saying two times, "They have shot videos with 'those' supposing he has missed something was sufficient to get the genie out of the bottle.

Selvi should be so sure, that as himself everybody in AKP knew very well that the videos, shown by Erdoğan to the people during the election campaign meetings, showing the military leaders of PKK as great fans of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, where their scenes were mixed with the official election campaign video of CHP, trying to give the impression that these are included in the original video as a proof of the "PKK-CHP cooperation" he asked his question thinking that Erdoğan was talking about another video.

However, when Selvi, caught unaware, tried to search into the ridiculous statements of Erdoğan, he put himself and Erdoğan in an even more pitiful and foolish situation.

When Selvi was lost for words, not knowing what to do with Erdoğan trying to tell him -and of course millions of TV viewers- a sloppy fabricated video as if it was real, Erdoğan felt obliged to persist: "Whether fabrication, or this, or that, but they made this video recording," he said not being able to stop himself from revealing that the videos produced by the Communication Directorate were fabricated.

So as a nation, we entered a new stage in the tradition of eliminating political rivals using audio-visual blackmailing tools which started in the history of politics in Turkey together with AKP.

From now on, you have to believe something that the regime wants you to believe, "Whether fabrication, or this, or that."

There are some signs that the deterioration of the mental health of Erdoğan also has a role in such a situation to break out. Even if I do not know the medical term for this, I can see that for a long time now Erdoğan feels at home everywhere that he is dominating, that the distinction between the private and public fields is becoming vaguer in his mind, and in his speech, and that illusions and reality are getting mixed. We can sense that the more lies he tells the people about state affairs, the vaguer his own references related to the realities of the society and the state also become, and sometimes he too believes in these lies. This is a great problem in itself which can potentially create serious problems in the "single-man" regime. However, we can leave this aside for now.

The attitude that Erdoğan and his closest companions have in the face of the "fabricated video" scandal, that the state is addressing the public with lies and with falsifications, risks a total attack on society's sense of reality. The near and serious threat is this.

Quick-wit (!) of youth

Erdoğan was in Sivas on Tuesday a day after the fabricated video scandal, and he said, "The terror chiefs supported CHP with videos. Now they stomping on the video that is the product of the quick wit of our youth that fits these facts into 5 seconds. These terrorists announced openly their support. Of course, they have not done this for nothing. In Van, they shouted "Blood and revenge." They were never ashamed. All disgraces that they want our nation to overlook are now revealed. They cannot hide the partnership they have with those who want to divide the country and the Gulenists. Their flirting with terrorist organizations, with the courage they take from the imperialists will not help them."

Never mind that using the means of public institutions as his private property in the middle of an election campaign, trying to rule out his rival, is a crime, a mistake or blame, and this is shameful enough, using these means for fabrication of lies and defending this as "a video which is the product of the quick wit of the youth" may have such great costs to the society, and it is a nightmare to even imagine all the consequences that this may lead to.

Holding the state power in hand, and chalking the fabrication of lies in order to keep this power away from those who deserve to win it up to "the quick wit of the youth" will inevitably lead to this: Everybody continuing to fabricate the same lie everywhere they are will be regarded as "youthfulness/bravery" which will turn dirty tricks into merits, and make lies stronger, more valuable and more reputable within the society and the state, and in the end, lies will be reinforced with the power of the state and the state will gain strength from lies.

Hence, İbrahim Kalın, the chief of the advisors of the President, who are merely the sultan's household troops who have to produce norms from the attitudes, behaviors, and moods of Erdoğan, was repeating Erdoğan's words on a TV channel only a few hours later.

The facts are real even if not the video (!)

"It is a video made by a group of quick-wit youth. The elements brought together in this video are facts. The important thing is this; have the PKK members made these statements or not? We need to ask this question. We know about the statements of the PKK members in support of Kılıçdaroğlu for 1.5 months now. A terrorist organization has made statements in favor of you. Naturally, you should be annoyed. Naturally, you should ask, "Who are you?" Have we heard any such statements in the first round? I think that Kılıçdaroğlu is annoyed but he kept silent. He should have expressed this in the first round but he is doing it now. Then he should talk about this with HDP (People's Democratic Party). The public is disturbed. People ask, "How can their representatives announce support for a candidate, so we will dance victory halay on May 28."

With the senior advisor also having confirmed it, from now on if you fabricate a lie that those in power want to hear and want the people to hear, the regime will call you a cute "group of quick-wit youth." When the idiocy, that felt itself a loser before the quick-wit, the unlimited joy and excitement, the profoundness and sophistication that emerged from the Gezi Park protests, comes to power, it can be so unlimited in malice and cruelty, this is what we are seeing and experiencing.

In any case, it will not be easy to overcome the pain of being caught saying "Whether fabrication, or this, or that," not able to convince even your creeper, and this being witnessed by millions.

The king is naked.

But the shamelessness was not in being caught naked, its expression, not even in the nakedness itself. The shamelessness was in losing yourself so far as to believe that millions will not be able to understand the apparent truth.
(AEK/PE)