Şadan Kaptanoğlu's team condemns personal attacks on his family ahead of the October 11 elections, urging respect and integrity in political discourse.
On the eve of the elections to be held on October 11, Şadan Kaptanoğlu's team published a press release regarding certain writings directed at the Kaptanoğlu family and himself. The statement emphasized that it is natural to criticize the candidates' projects and management approaches, while also expressing a reaction to statements targeting family members, mocking health conditions, and questioning Şadan Kaptanoğlu's loyalty to the country.
The statement is as follows:
PRESS RELEASE
We felt the need to make this statement due to the excessive accusations directed at Şadan Kaptanoğlu and his family in recent times. Our silence until now has been due to our desire not to engage our sector and its valuable representatives in these baseless polemics. Behind our silence lies our respect for our industry. However, the insults directed at family members, the mocking of individuals' health, and the questioning of Şadan Kaptanoğlu's loyalty to his country have made it necessary to issue a statement. As the election approaches, we cannot remain silent in the face of personal reputations being targeted and distorted information being used to influence our members' preferences.
You may criticize Şadan Kaptanoğlu's candidacy, his projects, and his management approach. You can ask questions or support another candidate. However, no preference justifies insulting a person's family, turning their health into a subject of mockery, or belittling their character. Some of the writings published recently have clearly crossed this line. Our style will never be like this.
In these writings, Şadan Kaptanoğlu's commitment to national values is questioned; judgments about his character are made based on personal relationships and testimony in a case. No one can place themselves in the position of patriotism and distribute loyalty certificates to others. The Republic and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk are not tools to be used to gain superiority for a preferred candidate in a chamber election.
The authors of these writings have been personally invited to our press conferences, which other journalists also attended, and they were given the opportunity to ask questions without any restrictions. We see their failure to utilize this opportunity and their attempts to influence voter preferences with insults and accusations just days before the election as a futile and ugly effort. Journalism requires not only the courage to publish an allegation but also the responsibility to direct questions to the subject and convey the answers honestly. We will not resort to these methods.
We are presenting ourselves to our members, listening to their concerns, answering their questions, and explaining our projects. We are clearly laying out what we have done and what we will do. You cannot divert us from this path with insults and slander.
We can discuss the budget, timeline, and feasibility of our projects. These questions are beneficial to the sector. However, attacking the family, mocking health issues, and questioning people's loyalty to their country do not contribute to Turkish maritime; on the contrary, they are harmful.
We leave the timing and language of these writings published just days before the election to the judgment of our members.
We view this smear campaign as an attempt to discredit the candidates far from fair evaluation. Members supporting Şadan Kaptanoğlu are individuals in the sector who make decisions with their own minds, experiences, and will. No one has the right to belittle their preferences. We trust in the common sense of our members and their ability to make their own decisions.
On October 11, the decision will be made by our members. No columnist, no insult, and no implication is above the will of our members.
A New Course at Sea
Respectfully.
Source: SeaNews Türkiye
