İlhan Uzgel: "Say exactly what you intend to say, Mr Fidan. Don't spoil and weaken the structure and quality of the organisation to this extent."

CHP Deputy Chairperson İlhan Uzgel said, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made new appointments. Three new Deputy Foreign Ministers. Your deputy ministers should be career diplomats who used to be advisers. We see that you are putting communicators. You are doing your best to weaken this institution. Then you want to strengthen it through a foundation. So if you want to strengthen it, strengthen the quality of education in Turkey. Don't you have your own diplomatic academy? Say exactly what you intend to do, Mr Fidan. When conducting foreign policy, don't disrupt and weaken the structure of this institution to this extent. If you weaken the institutions this much, you will remain under this."

İlhan Uzgel held a press conference at the party headquarters. Making evaluations on the current agenda, Uzgel said:

"Our party coming first in the local elections was an important progress not only for Turkey but also for the region and the world. Therefore, it attracted a lot of attention. Interest has increased a lot. Embassies of big countries at the level of high-level ambassadors constantly want to meet with our chairperson. They have appointment requests. It is the same abroad. Both in my contacts and in our chairperson's travels abroad, there is an intense interest towards him. I would like to start by saying this.

I know you have memorised it by now, but foreign policy is not going well. There are many problems, many mistakes. There is persistence in mistakes and errors. Now, for once, we have switched to a diplomacy process that does not move a leaf in the region without our knowledge. Yes, there are sporadic meetings and visits, but when you look at the agenda of the region, it is unbelievable. There is war in the north. There is instability in the east. There is war and massacre in the south. No one visits Turkey. Biden does not receive, Putin does not come. Normally, a country like Turkey should be buzzing with foreign ministers, heads of state, one plane should land and the other should take off. International organisations need to hold meetings. In other words, the Arab League will convene, the Islamic co-operation conference will convene, etc. If you are aware, none of these are happening. There is not much coming from the West anyway. I can even say this; despite the intense election agenda in recent months, our chairperson's foreign activities are almost higher than Erdoğan's. Therefore, Turkey, with its capacity and critical geographical position, has started to turn into a country that follows regional developments from afar and follows foreign policy from the stands. Imagine a President whose biggest dream is to meet the American President at the White House. If you ask him ‘what is his biggest strategic plan’, he will say ‘let's take a photo with Biden at the White House’. He even complained. Like ‘We had good relations with Trump, but not with Biden’. On the one hand, he calls everyone other than himself unpatriotic, and on the other hand, he favours Biden at international conferences and summits. Now these two cannot happen at the same time.

"HAMAS AND PHILISTINE ARE EQUALISED IN THE PRESIDENT'S MIND"

President Erdoğan, the AKP government and the Foreign Minister are all in a strange obsession with Hamas. Where did this come from? This is a meaningless and useless passion. Hamas is a party, an organisation that has massacred civilians and then caused the massacre of its own people, and the President and the Foreign Minister are comparing it to, the Kuvayi Milliye’. One of them has a historical dimension and depth. It has a struggle. The other is a movement that has not achieved any positive result other than dividing the Palestinian movement. So much so that in his answer to a question asked during a press conference with the Greek prime minister, Hamas is so ingrained in his mind that he says Hamas instead of Palestinian. In other words, Hamas and Palestine, Hamas in Palestine, have been equated in the President's mind. He does not understand another Palestine. What was the benefit to Turkey, for example, of being so close to Hamas, which no one wants to be side by side with in this geography except Qatar? What was the benefit to the Palestinians? I am really curious to hear them explain. Let them say that we have established close contact with Hamas and that it has benefited Turkey, Palestine and regional problems in this respect. I am curious. For example, let them explain.

"CAN DIPLOMACY BE SO CHEAPENED?"

There are problems in foreign policy. There are more problems in the Foreign Ministry. Now the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is one of Turkey's most modern, high quality and internationally respected institutions. It is one of the most rooted institutions. For one thing, almost all appointments are problematic. Political appointments made from outside are problematic. Merit is in ruins. So you have started to cheapen the diplomatic profession. You have a consulate. He paid a visit. I mean, they accepted their visit. Such adolescent behaviour... This person will represent Turkey. He's a diplomat. Even if he is a consul, he has a diplomatic identity. And you don't make a single statement. Not one apology. Not one recall. Is this it? Can diplomacy be so cheapened? Can an institution be so worn down? I mean, do you think that other diplomats who see this photo think that they are never seen, never looked at, never followed? Everyone saw it. What will happen if they treat you the same way?

"IS THIS HOW THE MINISTRY WILL BE STRENGTHENED?"

Now, even more serious, the AKP group has prepared a law proposal in the Parliament. It is unbelievable. They will establish a Foundation for Strengthening the Foreign Affairs Organisation. How will it work? The foundation will earn money. I mean, when you read it, I couldn't believe my eyes, wondering if I was reading something true. Now, in order to provide income to the foundation, it will be able to buy and sell movable and immovable property in Turkey and abroad. Is this how the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be strengthened? You are not involved in a crypto business, which it can do with these authorisations. Don't you have anything else to do? Is there no other way to strengthen the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? What is your problem? The MP who submitted this proposal gives the following data; he says that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs currently owns 53 plots of land in Turkey. It has 10 buildings. It has 36 plots of land and 242 buildings abroad. In other words, they sat down and extracted these. There is nothing left to sell in Turkey. You have sold it, and now you are eyeing the lands and buildings belonging to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which were bought with the taxes collected from the people of this country? They were bought with so much hardship. This must be prevented.

Turkey is the third country with the highest number of missions in the world. So you measure everything with numbers. When we say quantity or quality, it's always quantity. The big palace of justice has no law. There are no big hospital appointments. There are many embassies, many representative offices, but there is no quality in the diplomacy of the Foreign Ministry. It is necessary not to give up this ambition. Add quality to the work.

"SAY WHAT YOU INTEND TO SAY, MR FIDAN"

You are looking at the ban proposal. The Higher Education Institution can establish it. Why? So the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will establish a foundation. The minister will also be the president of the foundation. That foundation will establish a university. It will have a board of trustees, and the minister will appoint its 10-member board of trustees. The minister will also be its head. You will also be the rector. You will also attend all the lectures. What is the Foreign Ministry doing now? Are there no universities left in Turkey?

Are you a real estate agent? Hasn't the Ministry of Foreign Affairs been unable to buy a building since the Ottoman period? Do we need a foundation for this? Just when we were thinking about these things, we realise that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made new appointments. Three new Deputy Foreign Ministers. Your deputy ministers should be career diplomats who used to be undersecretaries. We look and see that two of the three are authors. You put communicators. You are doing your best to weaken an institution. Then you say you will strengthen it through a foundation. So if you want to strengthen it, strengthen the quality of education in Turkey. Don't you have your own diplomatic academy? Say what you intend to say, Mr Fidan. Don't disrupt and weaken the structure of this institution so much while conducting a foreign policy. Without institutions, there is no state. It is not individuals that make a state exist. Individuals come and go. Look, who knows how many foreign ministers have been before you. But the institution remains. If you weaken the institutions so much, you will remain under this."