During his party’s weekly parliamentary group meeting at the TBMM, President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed a range of pressing national topics.
Erdoğan initiated his address by lauding the AK Youth (AK Gençlik), then turned to a somber subject: the 12 soldiers who tragically died from exposure to “metan gazı” during an operation in a cave. He stated, “We will never lose sight of the fact that this paradise homeland and this blood-soaked flag are a sacred trust from our heroic martyrs and veterans. God willing, by achieving our objectives of a ‘terror-free Turkey’ and a ‘terror-free region,’ we will prove to everyone that the sacrifices of our martyrs were not futile. Within the entire endeavor for a terror-free Turkey, there are and can never be any actions that would dishonor the spirits of our martyrs.”
**MESSAGE ON THE ‘PROCESS’: “WE ARE ENTERING A PHASE OF POSITIVE NEWS”**
Indicating that a “sincere meeting” was held on Monday with DEM Party figures Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar, Erdoğan announced, “We are entering a phase where positive developments will be heard in the coming days. We hope this auspicious process concludes successfully and swiftly, without any setbacks or sabotage from dark circles.”
**A HARSH REBUKE AIMED AT ÖZGÜR ÖZEL**
Responding to recent remarks from CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, Erdoğan launched a sharp critique, saying:
“Turkish politics is navigating one of the most cautionary periods in its history, with the CHP, as usual, leading this regrettable state of affairs. The core issue? The CHP’s bitterness traces its origins back to May 14, 1950. The CHP and its ideological successors could never truly accept the people’s will that brought the Demokrat Parti and Menderes to power. Their conception of rights and justice is limited to a judiciary, media, bureaucracy, business world, and civil society that exclusively serves them.
In the last presidential election, they received such a resounding defeat from the nation that they have been unable to recover. According to their polls, they were set to write history, but they became history instead. Their speeches lack coherence, and we all observe with astonishment the treatment they have reserved for ‘Bay Kemal,’ whom they once promoted as Turkey’s great hope. As the Cumhur İttifakı, we have not only secured 5 years of golden value for our nation but have also safeguarded our people’s future.”
**TO ÖZEL: ‘HE IS UNABLE TO FILL THE SEAT HE OCCUPIES’**
“This party is now led by an individual installed after the controversial congress of November 2023. This person, unable to command the authority of the seat he occupies, takes to the podium at every chance, shouting, yelling, and ranting with what can only be described as tavern talk. At his next appearance, he spouts a stream of nonsense that directly contradicts his previous statements. Our citizens have a fondness for caricatures. The nation laughs and finds amusement in the peculiar stage performance of this individual, whom they are forced to tolerate as the CHP Chairman, before returning to their daily lives. It amounts to free comedy. He provides no benefit to the country, but he does, at the very least, entertain the populace.”
**”THE SCENE IS THE SAME IN OTHER CITIES”**
Insisting that ongoing investigations into CHP-led municipalities were legal rather than political, the AKP President elaborated:
“Behind this disreputability lies an even more disgraceful situation. The judiciary has initiated an inquiry into the largest corruption syndicate in the history of the republic. The complainants, the accused, and the bribe-takers are all members of the CHP. The tentacles of this octopus in different provinces and districts are being uncovered one by one. The scene is identical in other cities. The 100-year-old people’s party has transformed into an extortion party. Hundreds of victims are now seeking justice from the courts as their final option. This is a legal process, not a political one, and we are in no way involved.
The Manavgat scandal has another dimension: they have also sullied baklava, one of our nation’s most renowned brands. Baklava has become the latest casualty of the CHP mindset. The CHP leadership might show leniency to thieves, the corrupt, and fraudsters simply because they belong to their party, but no institution of the state does, or can, operate this way. Regardless of how much the CHP Chairman increases the dosage of threats and insults, he will have to confront this truth.”
**”THE ELECTION WILL BE HELD IN 2028″**
In response to Özgür Özel’s call to ‘hold an election on November 2nd,’ Erdoğan affirmed that the election would take place as scheduled:
“When we analyze the subtext of the commotion they have recently created, we see the same old logic and tactics. We’ve witnessed them stoop so low as to ask Western nations and organizations, ‘Why aren’t you intervening in Turkey?’ They are once again seeking power through the backing of foreign forces, just as they have consistently done since 1950. The individual leading the CHP has been fixated on the ballot box lately.
In this nation, aside from the daggers that the CHP has plunged into our democracy, the ballot box has always been revered by politicians. Given that the Constitution and election laws remain unchanged, the presidential and parliamentary elections will occur in 2028, and the local administration elections in 2029. Neither politics nor the nation has such an item on their agenda. We are unsure which ballot box or election this individual is referring to.”
**FURTHER DETAILS FROM ERDOĞAN’S SPEECH**
Erdoğan also commemorated the 12 fallen soldiers in greater detail, stating, “I wish for infinite mercy upon our martyrs. The Holy Quran gives us the good news that our martyrs are not dead but are alive and being provided for by Allah. They have achieved the most exalted rank after that of the prophets.” He also discussed the broader fight against terrorism, noting, “After the wall of terror is brought down, everything will be profoundly different. We are completely severing this bloody shackle from our leg. We will deliver the awaited historic news.”
On environmental matters, he mentioned that out of 3,282 fires this year, 20 were major blazes that required a relentless response. He defended the new “İklim Kanunu” (Climate Law), a follow-up to the 2021 Paris Climate Agreement, dismissing criticisms as “senseless fabrications.” He stated, “The Climate Law is entirely domestic and national. No power on Earth can seize even one inch of our soil.”
He reiterated his criticisms of the CHP, claiming, “We, as the AK Parti, have competed with the CHP at the ballot box 18 times since November 2002. We are familiar with them. They gathered the entire opposition into the ‘Table of Six.’ They lost again. We buried not only Bay Kemal but everyone around him in the ballot box.”
Regarding the CHP corruption scandal, he added, “Whether in a suitcase or a baklava box, if you have taken bribes, if you have plundered the people’s money, you will be held accountable by the judiciary. You can be sure that the judiciary does not discriminate by party when it demands accountability.”
Concluding with a firm stance on his mandate, Erdoğan declared, “In the last election, the nation gave us the duty to govern the country for 5 years with 52.18% of the vote; with God’s permission, we will use this period to its very end.”