Erdogan slams free speech advocates for silence on Gaza journalists' deaths

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has hit out at global media organisations for downplaying the "daily killings" of journalists in Gaza while describing Israel as a loser in the ongoing war in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

"Israel is killing not only women, children in Gaza but also journalists trying to perform duties under difficult conditions," Erdogan says at the launch of the seventh edition of the prestigious forum held in Istanbul on December 8 and 9.

"Over 70 journalists have been killed in Gaza. Where is world's renowned press? Why don't they give headlines about journalists killed?" the Turkish president says.

"Every day a journalist is being killed, yet we don't hear a word from institutions that for years have been preaching about press freedom."

The forum is taking place at the Hilton Bomonti Istanbul, where the smell of gingerbread lingers, forecasting an event full of vibrant and promising conversations.

Themed Growing Together: Responsibilities, Actions, and Solutions, the forum serves as a platform that discusses today's most pressing global topics, while proposing solutions as well as priorities and agendas for the region and beyond.

Many of the attendees today are bright and fresh-eyed university students. Hayat Bikana Beydi, 22, from Ethiopia, studies political science and international relations at Istanbul University.

"So happy to be here, to be honest," Beydi beams before the event was due to start at 2:20 PM local time (1120 GMT). This is the Ethiopian student's fourth year attending the forum.

"Yeah, because here people come and share their experiences, we like to learn from them here because the people that came here are more experienced than us. So we learned a lot of things from them."

"I don't have a specific speaker in mind, but I expect all of them to be good," Beydi, who first learned of the forum from a university scholarship programme, says, adding that the forum is also relevant to her studies.

She adds, "Because experts come and share their experiences, and [as students], we like to learn from them because the people that came here have so much experience to share."

Zahra Ismail Hussein, 23, from Somalia, shares the same opinion, saying that hearing her friends speak about past events convinced her to attend this year. "I'm eager to experience it for myself, and look forward to learning from the speakers," Hussein says.

TRT's Director-General Mehmet Zahid Sobaci kicks off the event with an opening speech, saying Palestine will be high on the agenda at the forum. He added that the world is witnessing a failure of humanity in Gaza.

'Disinformation – a threat to political stability'

Türkiye's Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, who took the stage next, hopes the forum produces common solutions for common global issues.

He adds disinformation and misinformation threaten political stability as well as the democracy of countries, highlighting that Israel can't manipulate global public opinion.

As Israel's war on Gaza enters its 63rd day, residents of Gaza, as well as victims of other conflicts around the globe, including Ukraine, are part of the agenda.

Six children representing the war zones handed a key symbolising the century of Türkiye to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before he spoke. The president's speech is the main event that many are looking forward to, including Indonesian student Maria Qhiftia, 22, a first-time attendee.

Waiting for the president

"One guest that I'm actually waiting to see is the president [Erdogan]. That's actually why I came here, to see the president. I think he is a wise and powerful person, and this is like his third term as president, right? In my opinion, he is doing really well governing the country," Qhiftia says.

The 22-year-old business management student adds that the agenda filled with speakers, particularly journalists, is also what drew her to sign up for the TRT World Forum. "Today, there will be a topic about the war that's happening in Gaza, so I'm looking forward to hearing more about that too," says Qhiftia.

In his speech, President Erdogan questioned popular Western media and its coverage of journalists killed in Gaza, saying that Israel is actively murdering journalists reporting truth and facts. He adds that Turkish media is striving to be a voice of the oppressed.

Over 150 speakers, including academics, politicians, think tank experts, journalists, and more, from across the world have gathered in Istanbul to share their expertise with an international guest list. So far, past renditions of the forum have brought together more than 8,500 guests and 651 speakers in total.

Key topics include international security, energy and climate, economy, technology, artificial intelligence, media and public broadcasting, and politics.