MLSA co-director Veysel Ok said that the CHP decision to bring the ‘censorship law’ to the Constitutional Court was not a strong method of opposition.

Speaking to ANF, Ok said that the CHP, HDP and IYI Party, that is, parties opposing the government, did not do what was necessary until this law was passed by the Parliament. Stating that the public does not know that retweets, likes and WhatsApp groups can now be evidence of a crime under this new law, Ok said that “the opposition could not show the necessary reaction when it was necessary. If there was going to be a march for justice, it had to be against this law. If there was going to be a parliamentary boycott, it had to be against this law. The CHP leader was in America on the day the law was passed. This law will affect not only journalists, but also the HDP, CHP and IYI Party. They will not be able to disseminate information without official approval from the government. It's a law affecting everyone and they don't really realize it. In this respect, their last minute opposition was not enough. The problem was the great silence before the law was approved."

Application to the Constitutional Court is a legal right

Reminding that the CHP applied to the Constitutional Court as it always does, Ok continued: “Applying to the Constitutional Court is not a method of opposition, it is a legal right. Expecting hope from the Constitutional Court would be a very optimistic interpretation under these circumstances. It should cancel this law, but we have no guarantees that it will do so and in what length of time. For the government, it is enough to apply this law until the election process. I don't think they have any reservations about the annulment or amendment of this law after the election. It's a law enacted to save the day. Therefore, it is not the right way for the opposition to leave all hope to the Constitutional Court and not do what is necessary beforehand.”

This law will affect everyone

Underlining that this is a law that will affect everyone, Ok added: “From the Facebook user in Hakkari to the journalist in Istanbul and Diyarbakır, this law will affect everyone. In Ankara, it will affect politicians, bar associations and professional organizations. Unfortunately, we were unable to present a necessary and organized objection. Therefore, we can foresee that everyone will be exposed to this judicial harassment in the coming period. Now we need to sit down and think about how we can overcome this law.”