NEWS CENTER- Here are the highlights from Erdoğan's speech: My fellow MPs, esteemed guests, ladies and gentlemen. I greet you with my most heartfelt feelings, respect and affection. Through you, I send my greetings to all my companions and companions who have devoted their hearts to our AK Party in our 81 provinces. I embrace with affection each of my companions who proudly carry the love of Türkiye on their hearts like a medal in all our organizations, and I especially embrace our young people. I pray to God that our group meeting will be beneficial for our party, our democracy and our country. I would like to welcome all our guests who came to our hall and thank them individually for the warm greetings they brought from our dear citizens. I pray that God Almighty may perpetuate our love that cannot fit into living rooms, this sincere friendship of ours and cause.
"I CONGRATULATE SARIOĞLU AND I HEARTLY BELIEVE THAT HE WILL SERVE THE PEOPLE OF ÜSKÜDAR WITH LOVE"
Dear brothers and sisters, we are going through a sensitive period where there are very busy agenda items and important developments at home and abroad, especially in our region. Before touching on these, right at the beginning of my speech, I would like to once again express my condolences to our dear brother Dündar Ziya Gültekin, the Deputy Mayor of Üsküdar Municipality, who lost his life in a traffic accident on his way from Istanbul to Ankara last week, and my condolences to his grieving family, relatives, loved ones and the people of Üsküdar. Our late brother Ziya Gültekin was an exceptional person who was a lover of Üsküdar, loved his city and district with great passion, and was excited and happy to serve no matter what position he held. He was a loved and respected name both within our organization and in Üsküdar. During his time as vice president, he distinguished himself with his hard work, sincerity and efforts to do justice to the trust. We were pleased with him. May God bless you too. I hope that Ziya Gültekin will honor our brother with his paradise and beauty. I kiss the eyes of the three orphan children he left behind as entrusted to us, one by one, and pray that God Almighty gives them patience and fortitude. I congratulate Muhammed Emin Sarıoğlu, who was elected as the Deputy Mayor of Üsküdar Municipality in the voting held yesterday, and I wholeheartedly believe that he will serve the people of Üsküdar with love.
"WE HAVE WITNESSED A DESPERATE HATE CAMPAIGN"
Of course, I would like to express my sadness here. Look, there are values that make people human. Respect for pain is one of them. Empathizing is one of them. After the death of our brother Ziya, which saddened us all, we witnessed a vile hate campaign, especially on social media platforms, which appeared to be directed from a single center. A mob devoid of any sense of humanity vomited all the pus they had accumulated within themselves against a person they did not even know. This desperation reached such a level that they attacked anyone who carried out the most basic human duty by issuing condolence messages. I leave these addicts, whose hearts have turned to stone and who no longer have anything to do with humanity other than their appearance, to God Almighty.
"THERE IS A NEED FOR A NEW POLITICAL LANGUAGE"
My dear fellow MPs, as you know, we have been drawing attention to the dangers of increasing polarization in politics in almost every speech we have for a while now. We touched upon this in detail in our opening address of the new legislative year. We specifically stated that in the regional conjuncture we are in, Türkiye needs a new style of politics and a new political language. We stated that turning politics from a competition to better service to the nation into a friend-enemy dichotomy poses a threat not only to our democracy but also to our social peace and tranquility. Not only that, we also made a well-intentioned call. We invited all political parties, including our rivals, to put aside their battle axes as a political institution and increase our commonalities when it comes to the interests of the nation and the country. We underlined that pursuing Türkiye-centered politics is a national duty rather than a need for our country, especially in this period. However, we have experienced great disappointment in the last three weeks.
"THE OPPOSITION HAS NO PLAN, NO PROGRAM PATTERN"
I would like to state with regret that some of the opposition actors have neither such sensitivity nor such an agenda. Just as they do not follow the world and our region at all, they are also unaware of the covert operations and social engineering projects against Türkiye. They have closed their eyes and ears to everything except their own narrow cadre interests. There is no plan, no program, no solution to the country's problems. If you say let's preserve civility in politics, unfortunately there is no such thing. I'm sorry, but this attitude is not the right attitude. It is not a responsible attitude. It is an attitude that is as morbid as it is dangerous for Turkish democracy. “If it is in my interest, this country should go bankrupt, end up in chaos.” His attitude is extremely selfish. It is an attitude that encourages those who dream of operations against Türkiye. Attributing his trivial political success to the disaster of the country he is a citizen of and the nation he belongs to is the application of an egoistic world of mind. For twenty-four years, they got hopeful whenever the country was hit by a stone's throw. For twenty-four years, they tried to profit from Türkiye's troubles. For twenty-four years, they pinned all their hopes on the economic, political and social weakening of the country, and thus on the bleeding of the government. Be careful, they are dreaming the same crude dream today.
"NOW KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE NATION"
Now, my dear brothers and sisters, someone recently said, unconsciously, "We are at war." he says. We need to ask this person whose ambition has captured his mind: What's up, gentlemen, who are you at war with? Which enemy did you declare war against? Is there a mobilization and we don't know about it? Türkiye was invaded and we didn't hear about it? Since Türkiye was not invaded and there was no mobilization, how did you come up with this war? Look, very serious problems have been experienced in this country for twenty-four years. There were those who showed our country a stick under their cloak. There were those who vilely threatened Türkiye, regardless of their stature. He used many tricks, such as the Gezi incidents, to destroy Türkiye from within. We will support the opposition and "overthrow the government." We have faced many attacks, from those who say, to those who give messages on magazine covers. You had no voice in any of these. We have never seen you use this language against those who threaten Türkiye and those who want to stir Türkiye up. You even went and begged for their help, extended your hand, kissed their skirt. Now he has come out and shamelessly said, "We are at war." you say. For God's sake, are you aware of what you say and where your words are going? When will you stop turning this nation into enemies? When will you learn to do responsible, common sense politics? I say to them, take your hands off the brotherhood of this nation. Accept that there is no place you can reach by dividing, separating and marginalizing.
Frankly, such an irresponsible statement is not possible. Politics cannot be done by constantly insulting people and constantly provoking people. Because politics is not the art of saying whatever comes to your mind, but the art of expressing your words by measuring and weighing them. “Sir, I don't care about that, I say what I want.” If you say, then you will hear that you do not want it. Moreover, you would be doing a disservice not only to yourself, not only to the political institution, but also to this country and nation.
"WE SAW THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE OPPOSITION IN THE FUND DISCUSSION TOO"
Here I would like to bring this to your attention. Their transformation of non-politics into politics is not limited to just rhetoric. We see the same frivolous attitude in fund discussions. They are playing with people's dignity and reputation through rumors. Look, just as it is a great crime to confiscate the nation's property, it is also a great crime and a great crime to make unfounded accusations of corruption against honest, honorable and dignified people. What's worse than this is to act recklessly even though your falsehood is revealed. Moreover, you will accuse our cabinet members without any information or documents, slander everyone, and incriminate the institutions of the state. People will spend the time they should be devoting to serving the nation to refute your slanders and lies with their documents. Then you will come out, make a brazen face and lie on your ear without blushing or feeling any embarrassment.
"WE WILL NOT SURRENDER TO THE POLITICS OF SLANDER, TO THE POLITICS OF LEFT A MUD HORSE'S TRACE"
We do not say goodbye to this. We will not surrender to the politics of slander or the politics of leaving no trace behind. With all due respect, the cost of slandering, playing with people's dignity, and accusing people cannot be brazenness. We will fight for this until the end, on the basis of law and democracy. The compass of our politics is clear. It is the protection of the unity, peace and tranquility of 86 million people under all circumstances. It is the preservation of Türkiye's social peace and stability. The only condition for national will is to make it dominant. It is the defense of our democracy against threats. It is about strengthening our internal front in this critical period we are going through. Protecting the reputation of the political institution is ensuring that it continues to be the only solution to the nation's problems. We work for this, we fight for this. Hopefully, we will continue to do politics on the basis of these principles.
FLOOD DISASTER
My dear companions and companions, as you know, we were exposed to excessive rainfall, floods and floods in Istanbul and surrounding provinces last week. As a state, we took action without wasting any time in the face of these disasters that threatened the life and property safety of our citizens. Our relevant ministers immediately went to Istanbul. They started working to determine both the extent of the disaster and the needs. In the first stage, on October 14, our disaster groups started to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the provincial and district disaster management centers in Istanbul. A total of 47,217 personnel, 5,280 vehicles and 14 boats took part in the search and rescue, intervention and support operations in Istanbul. As of October 19, a total of 3,270 citizens were evacuated to safe areas in line with 21,600 notifications made to 212 Emergency Call Centers and AFA. Unfortunately, 7 of our citizens lost their lives in Istanbul and one in Kocaeli. On this occasion, I once again wish God's mercy to my brothers who passed away and express my condolences to their families and relatives. All necessary investigations and examinations regarding our brothers who lost their lives are continuing.
"IF THERE IS NEGLIGENCE OR DEFECT, THOSE RESPONSIBLE WILL BE REVEALED AND NECESSARY ACTION WILL BE DONE"
It should be known that if there is negligence or fault, those responsible will be revealed and the necessary action will be taken without hesitation. However, we will never tolerate opportunists who try to use this painful incident, which upsets us all as a nation, for themselves, for their own political agendas, and especially to discredit corruption operations against municipalities. We provide all kinds of support to our citizens who are negatively affected by the disaster. To meet the urgent and basic needs of our citizens, a total of 200 million lira, 10 thousand lira per household, was transferred by our Ministry of Family, 230 million lira by AFAD, and a total of 80 million lira by our Ministry of Commerce to our Istanbul Governorship. So far, approximately 57 million liras have been distributed to 5672 households in 37 districts of Istanbul. We will continue to take all necessary steps with our relevant institutions to compensate for the losses and damages caused by the disaster as soon as possible.
"THE SYRIAN PEOPLE ACHIEVED A MAGNIFICENT VICTORY ON DECEMBER 8, 2024"
My dear brothers and sisters, dear young people, after our 20th Consultation Meeting in Kızılcahamam, I reacted to the brutal massacre in the city of Baniyas, Syria, in our group meeting on May 7, 2013, and I said the following from this podium, while the world was silent in those dark days when our hearts were burning with the shattered bodies of innocent children, women and innocent civilians: "We want to give our account bravely when the book is placed in front of us in the Ruz-i Mahşer. We will not be among the mute devils who remain silent while the cries of the innocent children in Baniyas rise to the heavens. I pray for God's mercy on our brothers who were murdered in Baniyas, and patience for our Syrian brothers. And I call out once again to my Syrian brothers who say, "O Nasrallah," and ask, "When will God's help come?" nasrallahi karîb.' Undoubtedly, the help of Allah is near. He who is patient will achieve victory, and Syria will achieve victory, God willing.” we said. This is what we said today, when those who taught us democracy, law and human rights lessons inside and outside were silenced. We wholeheartedly believed, as Master Sezai Karakoç expressed it most eloquently, that defeat is a victory that grows with defeat. In those days when oppression, brutality and barbarism surrounded us, "Whatever they do is in vain, there is a decision coming from the sky." he said. And my Lord did not embarrass us neither our nation nor the oppressed Syrians. God Almighty honored our Syrian brothers with a magnificent victory. The Syrian people achieved a tremendous victory on December 8, 2024, which will hopefully be talked about for years to come and will be passed on from mouth to mouth and heart to heart for years to come. After thirteen and a half years of oppression, we see that peace, tranquility and stability are beginning to emerge again in Syria, despite Israel's heavy provocations. Our Syrian brothers are building their common future in unity and solidarity under the astute leadership of President Mr. Ahmet Shara. We believe that a brand new page will open in Syria as the integration process in the north progresses. As Turkey, we continue to stand by Syria at every stage when it is needed, and we are trying to fulfill our responsibility for the welfare and peace of the Syrian people in this process.
"THE TIME OF ACCOUNT HAS COME"
In addition, there are also very important developments taking place in Syria that should serve as an example to the oppressors and murderers. The sorrows of the oppressed do not remain silent. It goes slowly and slowly. Murderers who enjoy killing children are detected in their lairs and picked out one by one, no matter where they flee. The time of reckoning has come for those who threaten Türkiye with guns in their hands and various rags in front of them, for those who shed the blood of 248 innocent people in Baniyas and 53 of our people in Reyhanli, and for the scoundrels who pose as heroes on the corpses of Syrian children. My brothers, have no doubt, the time of reckoning will come for others as well. We are very pleased that justice will be served, even if it is late and at the cost of the lives of hundreds of thousands of oppressed Syrians. I congratulate the Syrian Intelligence and our National Intelligence Organization for capturing the terrorist who was the perpetrator of Baniyas, Reyhanlı and many other massacres in Syria.
