President Erdoğan addressed the normalization debates at his party’s Parliamentary Group Meeting. Erdoğan said, “There is no political alliance between the main opposition and the ruling party. There can be a softening, normalization, but not an alliance.” Emphasizing the People’s Alliance, Erdoğan said, “We are walking shoulder to shoulder with our companion, our alliance partner, the Nationalist Movement Party.”
President Erdoğan said the following in his speech:
At the very beginning of my speech, I congratulate you on the blessed Eid al-Adha, which we realized last week, and I ask God to bring us to many more Eids in health and prosperity. I wish that the worship of our citizens who have gone to the holy lands to fulfill the pilgrimage, one of the 5 pillars of Islam, will be accepted and acceptable in the sight of Allah. Our religious festivals are exceptional days when we remember our eternal and eternal brotherhood as Muslims, when we reach the secret of the purpose of our existence in the world, when we glorify the ancient values of our civilization of sharing, solidarity, compassion and mercy. Even though we are a bit bitter due to the persecutions in our heart geography, especially in Gaza, I wish Allah bless all our brothers and sisters who share the joy of Eid al-Adha with their families, neighbors and friends.
Israel continued to shed blood and rain bombs on children and civilians during this Eid al-Adha holiday
During Eid al-Adha, we met with the leaders of the leading countries of the Islamic world to congratulate them on behalf of our nation and to try to find a cure for our bleeding wounds in Palestine, Lebanon, Sudan and elsewhere. As in previous Eids, Israel continued to shed blood and rain bombs on children and civilians. Hundreds of our Palestinian brothers and sisters who were struggling to hold on to life in tents and wrecked buildings were martyred due to Israel’s inhumane attacks. From here, I once again commemorate with mercy more than 38 thousand Palestinian martyrs who were victims of Israeli barbarism and wish a speedy recovery to our wounded brothers and sisters. The photo of Gazan children whose skin sticks to their backs because they cannot find a morsel of bread to eat is written in the book of shame of the modern world. This photo will be painfully remembered not only as a symbol of the bankruptcy of the global system but also as a symbol of the helplessness of the Islamic world.
We stand for Palestine and we will stand for Palestine
Just as our ancestors stood up for Palestine throughout history, just as Yavuz Sultan Selim and Sultan Abdul Hamid stood up for Palestine, just as the Republic of Turkey has stood up for Palestine since its foundation, God willing, we are standing up for Palestine with the same spirit, determination and courage and we will do so.
Some may speak differently in Turkey, some may speak differently in Europe, which they see as the door of approval for their political careers, some may seek to throw mud at the Palestinian resistance in order to get a good job from their Western brothers and sisters, to look cute to them, to win their favor. But we will speak the truth at home and abroad, we will defend the truth, we will stand with the innocent and against the murderers. No one should expect us to bow to the pressures of the global Zionist network and button our buttons in the face of the oppressors. During our visits to Spain and Italy on the eve of Eid al-Adha, we brought the persecution of our brothers and sisters in Gaza to the agenda. We made it clear that as long as the policy of occupation and massacre continues in Palestine, no part of the world will be safe. We emphasized that the most effective response to Israel’s arrogance and lawlessness is the recognition of the State of Palestine. We hope that the conscientious attitude displayed by Norway together with Ireland and Slovenia will set an example for the whole of Europe. We are pleased that Armenia, under the leadership of Prime Minister Mr. Pashinyan, has also decided to recognize the State of Palestine. I would like to express that the recent decisions and announcements are very important, especially the recognition steps that have increased to 149. God willing, we will continue our contacts for more and more countries to recognize Palestine.
It seems that Israel is now setting its sights on Lebanon
I have to make this warning here; it seems that Israel, which destroyed Gaza, is now setting its sights on Lebanon. Although the Western powers speak differently in front of the cameras, behind the scenes we see them patting Israel on the back and even supporting it.
It is pathetic that states that talk about justice are captives of Netanyahu
It is extremely grave and pathetic that states that talk about freedom, human rights and justice are in the thrall of a mental patient like Netanyahu. Netanyahu’s plans to spread the war to the region with the consent of the West will lead to a great catastrophe. The Islamic world and the brotherly countries in the Middle East should react against these bloody plans before the West. But we observe with regret that the Islamic world is acting as if it has been sprinkled with dead soil. We should not give this opportunity. Turkey stands by the brotherly Lebanese people and state. I invite other countries in the region to stand in solidarity with Lebanon.
Record-breaking airports on Eid
With the 9-day holiday, our citizens traveled to their hometowns and holiday regions. The number of intercity bus services alone reached 108 thousand. Thanks to these services, 3 million 782 thousand people met their loved ones. The number of people traveling by railways is approaching 7 million 520 thousand. The number of vehicles using our highways reached over 21 million. On the last day of the holiday, 94,454 vehicles passed through the Eurasia Tunnel connecting Asia and Europe. Istanbul, Antalya and many other international airports set new records in terms of passengers and flights during the Eid holiday. The same success also applies to our other projects such as Yavuz Sultan Selim and Orhan Gazi Bridges. The transportation investments we have put into service in order to bring the distant closer, to bring lovers together, and to provide our citizens with safe, peaceful and comfortable travel opportunities have paid off many times over.
We will not listen to investment-hostile scoundrels
From now on, we will not pay heed to those who are hostile to investment by saying ‘People will eat roads’. We will continue to cover every corner of our country with iron nets, roads, viaducts, tunnels, underpasses and overpasses. Despite the measures and investments we take, we cannot completely prevent accidents.
During the holiday, 72 people lost their lives in 7 thousand accidents. 12 thousand 400 people were injured. I wish Allah’s mercy to those who lost their lives.
Stubble fire kills 15 people in Diyarbakır and Mardin
On Thursday, June 20, the stubble fires that broke out in Çınar, Diyarbakır and Mazıdağı, Mardin, have burned the hearts of all of us as a nation. I wish Allah’s mercy to our citizens who lost their lives in the fire, which spread to a wide area in a very short time with the effect of the wind, and I wish a speedy recovery to our wounded brothers and sisters. We once again convey our get well wishes to our brothers and sisters from Mardin and Diyarbakır. All relevant institutions of our state have been mobilized to extinguish the fire from the first moment, and whatever is necessary to intervene in the fire has been done. Although the response to the fire was primarily the responsibility of the metropolitan municipalities and they did not fulfill their duties, our ministry and provincial governors quickly responded to the incident. The necessary processes to heal the wounds and compensate for the damage are ongoing. Our state has started to provide material support with the emergency aid allowance. As a result of the judicial and administrative investigation, the causes of the fire will be revealed in a way that leaves no room for any question marks.
A handful of shroud thieves are in an immoral race to grab logs from the flood
Yet, we refer to Allah and to the conscience of our nation those who stomp on a disaster in which we lost 15 people. We are faced with such political opportunism that we need to talk about it. On the one hand, our state is working hard to extinguish the fire with all its institutions, air and land vehicles. On the other side, you see a handful of shroud thieves immorally competing to grab logs from the flood. With all due respect, this is called political nepotism. It is exploiting the pain, distress and heart fire of the people.
The disgraceful behavior of DEM Party provocateurs at the condolence house in Mardin showed how they lack the values of the nation. The prudent and cold-blooded attitude of the governor of Mardin and the homeowners who lost their relatives in the fire prevented a very ugly provocation.
What happened after the Portugal match: Bloodless people’s attempt to play with the nation’s nerve endings is not innocent
Whose proxies they really are is revealed not only in the disasters that befall us, but also in sports competitions where we unite as a nation. Attempts of 85 million people to play with the nerve endings of the nation by the bloodless people belonging to this mentality after the match against Portugal in the European Football Championship are never innocent. But no matter what they do, they will not be able to break the unity of our nation. No matter how ugly they get, they will not be able to make an attempt on our social outcry. As AK Party, we have not left the field to the ragtag and permanent militants of Qandil and, God willing, we will not do so in the future. We will continue to inflict new defeats on the miscreants who are gloating over Turkey’s achievements. Our National Football Team made a very good start to the tournament by defeating Georgia 3-1. Unfortunately, we got a result we did not deserve against Portugal. I believe that our national team will achieve a historic victory against the Czech Republic tonight, which will make 85 million people proud. I wish our national team success in the Czech Republic match and I hope that God will not touch their feet with stones. I hope that 85 million of us will stand with our National Football Team in our prayers as one heart this evening.
AK Party has not practiced politics of tension since the day it was founded
Personally, for almost half a century, as AK Party, we have been struggling to serve Turkey and our beloved nation, of which we are proud to be a member, through politics for 23 years. We have been working day and night to ensure that Turkey grows and the Republic of Turkey lasts forever. We sweat and run to proudly fly our moon-starred flag, the symbol of our independence, which gives peace to oppressed hearts. We see each and every member of 85 million people as our brothers, our comrades and our destiny partners. Look, I have stated this many times before and I would like to emphasize it again today.
Since the day it was founded, the AK Party has never been on the side of polarization and polarization, and has never, ever pursued a politics of tension. We embraced Turkey as a whole with its 81 provinces and 85 million citizens. We have never discriminated in our politics, language, services and works. For us, east is no different from west, north from south. We did not look at the language, color, belief, origin or lifestyle of our citizens while producing services with the authority we received from the nation. While we were delivering services and investments to every corner of our country, we never looked at whether they voted for us or not and we did not care about that. Our politics is people-oriented politics. The fact that the AK Party has enjoyed the great favor of our nation in every election since November 2002 is a result of this unifying politics, politics of brotherhood, politics of service and works.
We attracted the attention of our nation not through politics of tension, polarization and separation, but through integration, unification and rapprochement. On the contrary, AK Party has always been the target and victim of polarizing, polarizing and divisive politics in Turkey. They wrote coup scenarios against us. On April 27, they wanted to give us the memorandum against AK Party. They targeted us at the Republican rallies. We were again the target of Gezi vandalism. On December 17-25, they wanted to stage a judicial coup against us. On July 15, they directly targeted us. We have always been the target of separatist terrorism and FETÖ. In the last 22 years, we have experienced many betrayals, coups and tutelage attempts like these. In all these attacks, the main opposition party did not stand by law, democracy or even politics, let alone stand by us. Look back and you will see that the main opposition party stood by, stood behind and even provoked every attack against the AK Party. You will see that they are struggling to survive by dividing Turkey into camps and poles. You see that they provide political patronage to all enemies of democracy, from FETÖ traitors to Gezi vandals. As in the May 14-28 elections, you see that they do not hesitate to play with the fault lines of the society for the sake of their political interests.
There is no political alliance between the main opposition and the ruling party. There can be softening, there can be normalization, but there can be no alliance
I would like to emphasize one point here, our efforts to soften politics, to normalize as our interlocutors call it, is actually an effort to normalize the opposition. It is the opposition that will open the clenched fists. It is the opposition that will sheathe the daggers. It is the opposition that will correct its language, discourse and political style. In other words, it is the opposition that needs to soften and normalize. Let no one misunderstand the steps we have taken to reduce the political tension that has increased due to the 3 consecutive elections in the last 1 year. Look, you should know that there is no political alliance between the ruling party and the main opposition party. There can be compromise, normalization, softening, but not an alliance. Because an alliance between the ruling party and the main opposition is against the nature of politics, democracy and the multi-party system. We are not in such an endeavor anyway. We are trying to find a common point of view, a common feeling on issues that we believe should be kept out of daily political debates, on issues related to our country, our nation and the security of our state. We are trying to strengthen the internal front on national issues such as the civil and libertarian constitution, the fight against terrorism and foreign policy. We stand where we stand. We expect the opposition to approach where we stand, that is, tolerance, that is, unifying language, that is, embracing politics, that is, policies that prioritize the state and the nation.
We did not receive courtesy from CHP
Despite all our sincerity and good intentions, you all see how the opposition responds to our efforts. Our whole nation sees it. While we are trying to act constructively for the interests of our country and our nation, our entire nation is closely watching how the CHP Chairman is trying to drag politics into tension by exceeding the courtesy style. Everyone is following the outbursts that were made less than 2 days after our return visit and then the dosage was constantly increased. It is understood that our opponents have a serious digestion problem. Let no one forget that we have been walking this path for 22 years, sometimes alone and sometimes with our sincere friends. During these 22 years, we have not received tolerance from the CHP. Praise be to Allah, we have not lost anything because of this. Today, we are not after a political gain. We want the CHP to stop the politics of tension. We want it to normalize, make peace with the national will and our nation and democracy will benefit from this.
It does not mean that we will accept the insolence against the People’s Alliance.
Our desire to give dialogue a chance does not mean that we will tolerate insolence against our party, our government and the People’s Alliance. Our decency does not mean that we will turn a blind eye to rudeness. We are soft-headed, but no one should forget that we are not docile sheep whose neck will be pulled. Now they are constantly talking about complicity morning and night. I would like to say only this to them; those who are looking for accomplices should not tire themselves too much, they should look at the money towers that they cannot explain where they came from and where they are still going. Those who are looking for accomplices should question who they are walking with in the so-called urban consensus before they say anything against us and throw mud at us.
We are careful not to get into arguments that do no good for the country. We also expect the opposition to normalize. We are open to criticism from the opposition, but we will not tolerate inappropriate expressions. We will not make anyone a partner in our success story.
We walk shoulder to shoulder with the Nationalist Movement Party
We walk shoulder to shoulder with our companion and alliance partner, the Nationalist Movement Party. We do not tolerate these attacks. We will not tolerate these attacks and we will not let them pass. We know very well where the trigger pens of FETÖ, whose lice are bleeding, want to reach. We clearly see the attacks on both Mr. Bahçeli and myself. Their issue is the People’s Alliance, which is the guarantee of Turkey, rather than the MHP, and we will not fall into this trap. Founded on the night of July 15 against the coup plotters, the People’s Alliance stands firm. It is one, it is whole, it will stand unshaken. The strongest shield of our country, which is surrounded by a ring of fire, is the People’s Alliance. We wish that the main opposition, which cannot join the alliance, sees these risks and stands on a more domestic national ground. They should give up their old habits in defending our national interests. As the People’s Alliance, we continue on our way unshaken. We will continue to be the hope of Turkey and the Turkish nation for many years. We will continue to be united against insidious plans and sedition movements and to face all attacks.
We are aware of the problems caused by inflation
We successfully held our consultation meeting in Kızılcahamam. Our cabinet members made presentations in different areas. In our meeting, we took an impression of the election results and shaped our road map. We will come together with our mayors at the beginning of next week. After this meeting, we will focus on serving at full capacity.
We are aware of the problems caused by inflation and the burden on fixed wage earners. We will solve this by providing a permanent welfare increase. We will see the inflation fever drop together. We will continue the summer season with intensive work. While taking all these steps in the economy, we will realize the renewal process in our party. Our biggest criterion is the grade given by our nation.
We will realize the change our nation expects from us
In the previous day’s FMC, we changed the guard in some of our provinces. We will also make other savings. In the process we will manage patiently, we will realize the change our nation expects from us. We are not a party of political parties. We are a cause movement with roots in the past and eyes in the future. It does not suit us to walk in politics by breaking and excluding like others.
