KILIÇDAROĞLU: "POLITICS IS NOT SOLDIERS’ BUSINESS"

KILIÇDAROĞLU: “THE CHAIN OF COMMAND MUST KNOW ITS PLACE. POLITICS IS NOT SOLDIERS’ BUSINESS. EVERYONE MUST KNOW THEIR PLACE”

The chairperson of CHP, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, criticized the generals who applauded the speech of the President Erdoğan at the tank tread factory in Sakarya yesterday. He said, “Erdoğan is now going as far as to make soldiers cheer for him. This is an indicator of the profound corruption in the state. If you surround yourself with soldiers who pursue careers at the backstage of politics, you will be left with hallow Middle Eastern uniforms with plenty of stars and epaulettes. Do not forget that those Middle Eastern soldiers with plenty of epaulettes escaped wars and fled battlefields. Thus, the chain of command must know its place. Politics is not soldiers’ business. Everyone must know their place.” Kılıçdaroğlu also touched upon the assassination of Sinan Ateş, the former leader of the Grey Wolves, and said, “Bahçeli is ranting and raving. In that case, I should speak more clearly. You are harboring the instigators. You will turn them in.”

The chairperson of CHP, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, made a speech at his party’s group meeting at the parliament today. Here is what Kılıçdaroğlu said:

“WE DO NOT ACCEPT, IN ANY WAY, THE ANTI-DEMOCRATIC PRACTICES SUCH AS SHUTTING DOWN POLITICAL PARTIES AND CUTTING DOWN THEIR TREASURY GRANTS: CHP believes in democracy. There has been too much suffering in the past century. There have been attacks against democracy. There have been military coups as well as civilian coups. Türkiye now needs to get rid of all of these. The upcoming elections are critical in this sense. If we believe in democracy, we also believe in freedom of thought. Shutting down political parties is an outdated practice that belonged to the times of military rule. Today’s democratic regimes do not shut down political parties. This is because it is not the dominant powers who will decide which political party will come to power; it is the 85 million citizens of the Republic of Türkiye. Therefore, democracy is indispensable for us. We do not accept, in any way, the anti-democratic practices such as shutting down political parties and cutting down their treasury grants; we do not approve it. We say this altogether: Long live democracy. Long live the Republic of Türkiye.

YOU ARE COWARDS IF YOU DO NOT LIFT THE PARLIAMENTARY IMMUNITY FOR ALL CHP MPs, INCLUDING MYSELF: We have come to such a point that they are now threatening us. Those who hold the power start throwing around threats. They say, ‘We will lift the parliamentary immunity.’ They are convening the relative committee to lift the parliamentary immunity for two parliamentarians: Ali Başarır from CHP and Lütfü Türkkan from GOOD Party. Let me say this very clearly: You are cowards if you do not lift the parliamentary immunity for all CHP MPs including myself. We have not usurp the rights of anyone so why should we be afraid? Would you like to try us for our thoughts? So be it. We have not been involved in corruption so why should we be afraid? We are not like you and we do not want to be. We ride tall in our saddle. We are not afraid to give account to this nation if need be. They think that they can threaten us with the immunity. They are trampling on the traditions of the parliament. We are not afraid. We will not be afraid. We will keep walking on our path with determination. We will keep walking and walking.

85 MILLION CITIZENS MUST KNOW THAT THOSE WHO ROUND UP PUBLIC SERVANTS SO THAT THEY CHEER FOR THEM CANNOT DO ANY GOOD TO THIS COUNTRY: Citizens from all around Türkiye come to me and say, ‘Please, Mr. Chairperson, shoot a short video or post a tweet and talk about our problems. Talk about them so that certain people remember that we have important problems.’ Those who withdraw into their palace and round up public servants so that they cheer for them cannot do any good to this country. 85 million citizens must know this.

DO NOT DESPAIR: When it comes to the matter of agricultural engineers, the first agricultural school was founded 177 year ago on January 10, 1846 in the Ayamama Farm in Yeşilköy, Istanbul. 177 years ago, exactly. We are in the 21st century and agricultural engineers are still struggling. I had posted a tweet last year and they have asked me to read it out loud this year. Let me read it out to you: ‘Dear agricultural engineers. I know about all of your problems. Do not despair. Very soon, you will be able to happily do your job on our plentiful lands and rightfully celebrate your profession.’

PIKTES TEACHERS ARE WRONGED: There is another problem about which the people do not know much. They are implementing a project that is called PIKTES. It is short for Project on Promoting Integration of Syrian Kids into the Turkish Education System. They hire contracted teachers within the scope of this project. These teachers say, ‘We have an issue. We are contracted. They dismiss us from duty at the end of every academic year. They start a new contract when a new academic year starts. We sign a new contract. In this way, they are looking for ways not to pay our severance pay.’ Just listen to reason. Does a government pull scams? A government does not, but a palace and its followers do. All they do is pull scams. They are looking for ways of paying less to teachers. To avoid giving them severance pay. But do not despair. I know about your job. I know what you do. I know about your struggle. You will get your severance pay. You will get permanent employment. You will get salary increases on an equal basis. This is happening very soon and it cannot be stopped.

WE ARE ALL GRATEFUL TO ALL INCORRUPT JOURNALISTS: Today, it is January 10, Working Journalists Day. First of all, we are all grateful to all incorrupt journalists who cannot be bought; all journalists who chase after news; verify the information they find first; and then publish it. Most of the time, it is from them that we learn the truth, developments and what is happening behind the scenes. An honorable journalist can never be bought; he/she only makes news with integrity. When they are faced with pressure, they do not hesitate or get scared away. They write up their articles based on journalists’ ideal and inform people. This is the main philosophy underlying the fact that journalists are perceived and accepted as the fourth power in real democracies. Their duty is to make news on behalf of the society and communicate the problems of the society to the political power. I would like you to know that the month of January witnessed great suffering in our history of journalism. Metin Göktepe was one of them… Uğur Mumcu, Ahmet Taner Kışlalı, Hrant Dink were among them. These journalists were shot to death, all in January but in different years. Therefore, the month of January has a special importance for both our history of democracy and history of media. We obviously know that now there is no freedom of press; that censorship is common practice; and that true news are banned.

WE ALSO KNOW ABOUT THE SO-CALLED JOURNALISTS: We also know about those who are bought but still call themselves journalists. We know about those who speak for AKP on TV; whose work ethics and political opinions are on sale; who rent their logic out to the palace. But they should not worry either; they will no longer appear on TV when democracy is reinstated in this country. They will no longer be bought. Happy Journalists Day to journalists who cannot be bought.

THEY HAVE THEIR OWN PENAL INSTITUTIONS SUCH AS THE SUPREME BOARD OF RADIO AND TELEVISION AND THE PRESS ADVERTISEMENT INSTITUTION: They will not give permission to Evrensel Newspaper. They have their own penal institutions such as the Supreme Board of Radio and Television and the Press Advertisement Institution. We will restructure them as well. We will bring ethics to the power. We will bring justice to the power. No advertisement can be placed on Evrensel and Yeni Asya Newspapers. It has been more than three years that the Yeni Asya Newspaper has not received an advertisement. Just listen to reason. We are going to change all of these. No one should worry; we will reinstate democracy in this country. There is no other way. We are going to struggle for it.

WE WILL LAUNCH A PROCESS WHERE POLICE OFFICERS GET TO RETIRE AND PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF THEIR CHILDREN RATHER THAN COMMITTING SUICIDE: Our security forces ask me to please bring their problems to the agenda as well. We respectfully greet each and every one of our heroic soldiers, police officers and gendarmerie officers who sacrifice their lives for us; risk leaving their children orphans so that our children can sleep safe and sound; exercise the most difficult job in the world, and all civilian public servants and worker working with them. We also greet their families who also sacrifice as much as them. I first would like to call out to our police officers, gendarmerie officers and neighborhood wardens. We know about the event that led to the cases of suicide at the police and gendarmerie. There are studies conducted by very competent researchers in this field. We know about their heavy working conditions. We know that they are not paid for overtime. We are aware of these. We know that your employee personnel rights are violated. I would like you to know that we would never allow for the cruelty that is the obligation to do a second service term in the east. We have retired police officers who are primary or secondary school graduates. We will ensure their adaptation rights. Everyone will be appointed or promoted based on merit. We will never ever allow for our police officers who score 90 in the written exam to be disqualified in the oral exam because they do not have an uncle or an aunt to pull strings. We will allow for our security forces to get organized. They will get organized and claim their rights. We will make sure of this. We will launch a process where police officers get to retire and protect the rights of their children rather than committing suicide.

NATIONAL DEFENSE CANNOT BE BASED ON CONTRACTS: I am also calling out to my specialist gendarme friends. We will ensure that the term spent in the specialist gendarme schools is counted as part of the service time. Write this down as a promise from Mr. Kemal. I am calling out to our contract specialist sergeants. Specialist sergeants cannot serve based on contracts. National defense cannot be based on contracts. You will all be permanent staff members and work hard in your permanent jobs.

HE PROMISED TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS OF SERGEANTS: I am now calling out to sergeants. I know about your struggle for justice. There is something I want to mention here. The person who gave the order for a bomb to be destructed was paid damages 8 different times. However, the Sergeant Esma who died a martyr while destructing the bomb was not paid damages at all. We will put an end to this oddity. Don’t you worry. If Mr. Kemal is here, there will be democracy, justice and human rights. Hard work will be valued.

WE WILL KEEP OUR CALM AND WAIT: We will achieve all of these with a healthily functioning state and public mechanism. We know what a state’s duty is. Public institutions and public administration have a purpose. To ensure peace and security in the society. If you do not ensure peace and security, people will be polarized. The resulting environment will lay the groundwork for internal conflicts. This is the biggest risk that Türkiye is faced with right now. I am calling out to all my fellow citizens. I am aware of the extent of injustices we are faced with from time to time. I realize it. But we will keep our calm. We will wait. We will listen to our hearts and conscience. We will vote in favor of freedom, human rights and democracy and against injustices when we go to those ballot boxes. We will vote to defend justice. We will rip the palace, its court, its followers, the gang of five off this country. We will bring democracy, human rights and all the beautiful things back to this country.

WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT WE WILL WAKE UP TO TOMORROW MORNING: State management means ensuring the safety of life and property for all citizens. In fact, state management means ensuring justice and lawfulness. If you do not do this, you fail to fulfill your responsibility towards people. Do the people live in peace and safety?... None of us knows what we will wake up to tomorrow morning in this country. We do not even know what will happen in 10 minutes. There is no stability in economy or in life. Unemployment rates are off the charts. The number of enforcement offices is increasing. This is unimaginable.

3 THOUSAND 97 DOLLARS WERE STOLEN FROM EVERY SINGLE PERSON: I will give you some figures… They are from the Turkish Statistical Institute that gave up on its free will in the face of heavy pressures from the palace. When Erdoğan was elected as the President, per capita income was 12 thousand 582 dollars. Today, in 2022, per capita income is down to 9 thousand 485 dollars. 3 thousand 97 dollars were stolen from every single person. Now, I would like my fellow citizens who voted for AKP or MHP in the past to ask the following question to their conscience, families, children, local grocery store owners. Who brought it down from 12 thousand 582 dollars to 9 thousand 485 dollars? If you do not ask this question, you cannot defend the rightful shares of your children or your flag or your homeland. Who started this wrong and afflicted the nation with it? This is what they call deepening poverty. This is why all the resources are channeled to the gang of five.

WHY DO YOU REJECT IT? IT IS A MINIMUM AS THE NAME IMPLIES IT: Last week, the CHP group in the parliament presented a legislative proposal. AKP and MHP parliamentarians rejected it. Why on earth do you reject it? It is the minimum wage. It is a minimum, as the name implies it. What do you give to the retired? You do not even give them the minimum wage. You think it is too much for them. They presented this question to the people. They asked, ‘how would you have voted when CHP’s legislative proposal was put to a vote in the parliament if you were a parliamentarian?’ The rate of those who say they would have voted in favor is 83.3 per cent. They asked the electors of AKP, ‘how would you have voted?’ The rate is 72.4. They asked the electors of MHP, ‘How would you have voted when CHP’s proposal was presented?’ 74.5 per cent say they would have voted in favor. So, there is a consensus in the society. This shows us how rationally and logically CHP approaches the burning problems of the society in the parliament. Everyone has understood now, one way or another, that the party that protects the poorest and most vulnerable segments of the society is called the republican people’s party.

YOU WILL RUN AWAY. WHEN THE TIME FOR THE BALLOT BOX COMES, YOU WILL LEARN YOUR LESSON: Türkiye is not being governed; Türkiye is being swayed from side to side. They learn about the problems of Türkiye from me. This is because they cannot mingle with the people. They cannot get into their homes. They cannot communicate with women. So, they assign public servants. They say, ‘This is a letter from Erdoğan. I am a public servant and I have brought this to you.’ Well, don’t you have a women’s branch? Don’t you have a youth branch or parliament members? They cannot go out to the streets. They cannot listen to people’s problems. They are running away. That is right; you will run away. When the time for the ballot box comes, you will learn your lesson.

YOU CANNOT SIT ON THAT SEAT LIKE A NEIGHBORHOOD BULLY: As you know, the gentleman went to that tank thread factory. He said many things there. Erdoğan is the same old Erdoğan. Nothing has changed. He kept throwing around threats, insults and slanders. He never hesitates to do so. He does not even realize how valuable and important that seat he occupies is. You cannot sit on that seat like a neighborhood bully. That seat represents the Republic of Türkiye and her flag. Swearing and slandering are not fitting for that seat.

POOR FELLOW, HE HAS BECOME HIS OWN TROLL: However, I regret to say that Erdoğan is the same old Erdoğan. He has gone so far that he has become his own troll. In the meanwhile, we witnessed some proof as to how much he corrupted the state, yesterday. I always asserted that he corrupted the state. Yesterday he proved it. Soldiers cheering for his lies and slanders. Now, I would like to bring the attention of our people to two things: First, as CHP, we bravely did our part. We hid the distress we suffered. But we saw we needed to change and we did it. All change starts from within. It, then, pours out. We managed to conduct some internal reforms. We first became free. Then, we started to root for freedom. This was not easy, dear friends. There were complaints coming from all around. Believe me, it was not easy. But what mattered was to achieve an extremely difficult goal and we achieved it. CHP is now the people’s party, in real terms.

THE CHAIN OF COMMAND MUST KNOW ITS PLACE: We left the status quo aside and we sided with change. We advocated for change and freedom. We stood by the people who did not vote for us when they were faced with injustice. We sat down and analyzed all the event of the past with our right mind and reason. What did Erdoğan do? He has become everything that he criticized in the past. He has turned into a dreadful tyrant and an advocate of militarism. His remarks can no longer go beyond mere status quoist words. He aligned himself with horrible structures. He has become a huge obstacle in front of change. He has built such a system that he now does not hesitate to get soldiers to cheer for him while he politically criticizes me. He now gets soldiers to cheer for him. Believe me, I personally do not care at all if those soldiers cheer for him. But this is an indication of some major corruption within the state. I would never wish for soldiers to cheer for me. I would never desire it. But if they cheer for those who lie and slander, the state is obviously corrupt. This is very clear to me.

If you surround yourself with soldiers who pursue careers at the backstage of politics, you will be left with hallow Middle Eastern uniforms with plenty of stars and epaulettes. Do not forget that those Middle Eastern soldiers with plenty of epaulettes escaped wars and fled battlefields. No good can come out of this career-first mindset. Thus, the chain of command must know its place. Politics is not soldiers’ business. Let me repeat: Politics is not soldiers’ business. Everyone must know their place. Everyone must understand what their office represents.

THEY SHOULD HANG OUT WITH PERINÇEK: Do those soldiers want to be involved in politics? They should then take off their sacred uniforms and align themselves with Erdoğan. They should hang out with Perinçek. He is now Erdoğan’s entourage. They should be all together. We, on the other hand, have changed. We are the people’s party. The palace now represents the exact wrongdoings that we left behind. They all have the status quoist, anti-reformist and anti-liberal mindset of Kenan Evren now. They are aligned with Kenan Evren.

YOU ARE HARBORING THE INSTIGATORS. YOU WILL TURN THEM IN: My last words are for Bahçeli. He is ranting and raving today. Go ahead, Mr. Bahçeli, keep ranting and raving. All in vain. Let me say this clearly: Sinan Ateş was our son, too. We have some grey wolves within CHP as well. Sinan Ateş was their son, brother, compatriot too. They will naturally defend the right of the deceased, of the—let me say it clearly—martyr. I am saying this very clearly: CHP will defend the right of our brother—our martyr. This is my responsibility towards all grey wolves of CHP. Since he keeps ranting and raving, I should speak more clearly. You are harboring the instigators. You will turn them in. You have given wrong messages to the youth around you by taking photos with the mob. So, they played the mob game. You ruined everything. Do you think we don’t know?

WE WILL ENSURE JUSTICE FOR SINAN’S DAUGHTERS. THERE IS NO OTHER WAY: There is a martyr in question. He will be revenged. You will turn in those instigators who insulted the police officers that knocked on their doors. I am saying this very clearly. You go on ranting and raving all you want. CHP has a significant number of grey wolves. CHP is acting with them. This is because they love their country. So do we. They love their nation. So do we. We will ensure justice for Sinan’s daughters. There is no other way.

Bahçeli should know this very well: You surrendered our tanks and threads to Qataris. We will get our tanks and threads back and give them to our glorious army. With the grey wolves. You have taken military hospitals away from our army. We will hand them back to our army with the grey wolves. They carried away the tomb of Suleyman Shah. Suleyman Shah’s tomb is on our lands. It is our flag that flaps there. We will bring Suleyman Shah’s tomb back to our lands with all the grey wolves, all the patriots and all CHP members. We will have our flag flap there. We will salute it all together…

WHICH FOREIGN SOLDERS ARE YOU GOING TO INVITE TO TURKIYE?: They want foreign soldiers to come to Türkiye; they rely on them. I am now asking Bahçeli and Erdoğan: which foreign soldiers are you going to invite to Türkiye to fight against terrorists? The German, the French, the Greek, the Russian, the US or the Canadian? Which foreign soldiers are you going to invite? I have not had an answer so far. Let me be very clear when I say this to the grey wolves. Your place is with CHP. If you are nationalists, one of our six arrows represents nationalism. If you are patriots, so are we. We will bring the tomb of Suleyman Shah back to our homeland; flap our flag there and salute it all together. What will happen then? Erdoğan and Bahçeli will be green with envy. So be it. What is it to us?”