Former TRT Announcer Sırrı Er: This Country Belongs to All of Us

The “Social Costs of the State of Emergency” study conducted by the Platform for Justice for Victims once again reveals the profound wound that the post-decree period has left on Turkish society.

I have tried, as best as I can, to put into words what this research made me feel—and the trauma endured by hundreds of thousands of people, affecting millions when their families are taken into account.

Because some forms of suffering cannot be measured in numbers. Some injustices do not affect only the person directly targeted; they reach into the lives of entire families. When someone loses their profession, their spouse, children, parents and loved ones often carry the consequences as well.

I am a proud citizen of this country.

For ten years, I have been subjected to efforts to silence me. My profession was taken away. My dignity was trampled upon. My children were stigmatized. My family was torn apart. People close to me lost their lives. Some among us took their own lives.

And yet, I am still standing.

So let me say this clearly:

I do not want revenge.
I want justice.

I want our detained and imprisoned brothers and sisters to be released without delay. I want our cases to be reconsidered in accordance with universal principles of law. I want our records cleared, our positions and careers wrongfully taken from us restored, and compensation for the material and emotional losses caused by the years we lost.

I want a collective apology and the restoration of our dignity and reputation.

These are not favors being asked of anyone.

They are rights.

We are calling for the rule of law. We are appealing to the conscience of society.

There is a solution.

Through an independent judiciary and a genuine process of peace, both our dignity and the future of this country can be protected.

Without the rule of law, there is no tomorrow.

What is done to us today may be done to you tomorrow.

I do not want revenge.

I want justice.

I want peace.

I want a future for this country.

And this demand does not belong to a handful of people. It is the shared voice of hundreds of thousands of individuals and millions of families.

It is time to listen.

We have been telling this story for years.

Those who refused to hear, refused to see, or said, “I had no idea,” are now lamenting the injustices suffered by people from their own circles.

But this country did not reach this point overnight.

We all witnessed what happens when injustice is ignored, when people remain silent, and when the suffering of others is treated as someone else’s problem.

At the very least, let us say it today:

Justice for everyone, without discrimination.

Because justice cannot truly be called justice when we demand it only for ourselves.

Justice has meaning only when we apply the same standard to those who are close to us and those who are not.

This country belongs to all of us.

#ItIsASevereLoss