Efforts of anti-Turkish elements to disrupt peace will not be realized: Communications director

Efforts of anti-Turkish elements to disrupt peace in Türkiye will not be realized, Türkiye's Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said on Monday, commenting on social media trends and violence after a crime by a Syrian national in the Kayseri province on the previous day.

"Efforts of some quarters, led by anti-Türkiye elements, to disrupt the peace of our country with provocative activities aimed at testing public order, will not achieve their goal, thanks to the selfless efforts of our state with all its elements," Altun said on X.

He said the state, under the coordination of the Communications Directorate, continues to work against "unfounded allegations, deliberate fake news with manipulated information and all disinformation activities that would provoke our citizens."

He invited Turkish citizens to "act sensitively in order to not give credit to false news, to take into account the extent and possibility of disinformation in the dissemination of content, and to rely only on reliable sources, especially our official authorities."

A Syrian national was arrested for sexually abusing a 7-year-old in Kayseri, who has been taken under state protection.

The incident sparked outrage among residents that led to violence, and negative social media trends against Syrians, about 4 million of whom are hosted by Ankara due to the civil war in their country.

"It is wrong to use the sad events in Kayseri, following a crime for which our state is carrying out judicial processes against the suspect, as a material for provocations beyond our borders. Türkiye's efforts for the well-being of the Syrian people and its principled stance are above all provocations," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said 343,000 posts were made from approximately 79,000 accounts on X following the events.

Emphasizing that 37% of the shared accounts were determined to be bots, he added: "It was determined that 68% of the posts were provocative and negative. An investigation was launched into 63 accounts. Of these, 10 were referred to the prosecutor's office, while the procedures of the others are ongoing. We will not tolerate those who threaten the peace and security of our country, who make provocative posts and hate speech."

Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said the judiciary imposes the necessary punishments within the framework of law. "Those who want to sow seeds of discord among our nation by discriminating, marginalizing and using hate language will never achieve their goal," he said.

In a separate post on X, Tunc said there were images of attacks against the Turkish flag on social media platforms.

He said an investigation was initiated by prosecutors in Ankara for "insulting the signs of sovereignty of the state," adding: "Disrespect and ugly attacks on our glorious Turkish flag, which takes its color from the blood of our beloved martyrs, can never be accepted."

The Syrian Interim Government also asked "the people living in the liberated areas not to obey provocative calls."

Noting that Syrians attach great importance to conveying their voices and feelings peacefully to their Turkish brothers, it also called on the people to "exercise restraint in order to maintain security in the liberated areas and to preserve the legacy of their revolution."

The Syrian National Army raised the Turkish flag in the northern Syria, conveying the message "we are brothers."