Collect from the people, scatter to the US, Russia, and Europe!..

They sold everything off, they spent it on “reputation.” The well has run dry; it won't be long before they tax the very air we breathe.

For now, we are asked to contribute to these "Deli Dumrul" (extortionate) taxes by paying 750 liras from credit cards with a limit of 100 thousand liras. Apparently, they are going to strengthen our defense industry.

A junior partner in the government was quite angered by the reactions.

Not only did he claim that if we do not pay this tax, Turkey's fate will end up like Syria, Iraq, or Palestine; he also declared regarding those who expressed opposition, “These people are not defending nationalists, but those from DEM. When Turkey and Greece face off, these people defend Greece, the West, and Armenia.”

The same politician, upon hearing that citizens were lowering their credit limits below 100 thousand liras to avoid this "Deli Dumrul" tax, called on all “national banks” to cancel the credit cards of these individuals.

You would think it wasn't their own government that applauded shaking hands with DEM members, that is dying to normalize relations with Armenia, that never says a bad word about Prime Minister Mitsotakis no matter what slap Greece deals to Turkey, and that has now announced it will sit at the table to resolve issues in the Aegean within the framework of “international law”!..

Let us point out what Mitsotakis, who held a meeting in the Greek Cypriot administration with 9 countries bordering the Mediterranean (MED-9), said while Erdoğan was talking about “good neighborly” relations just a few days ago while returning from his trip to Albania and Serbia.

He claimed that more than a third of Cyprus is occupied by Turkish forces and emphasized that he expects the informal meeting the UN Secretary-General will hold with Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders to ensure the resumption of the negotiation process “within the framework of the European acquis and international law.”

THE COSTS OF S-400 AND F-35

So, our defense industry needs support, and those who oppose the new tax to be introduced for this are traitors.

Shouldn't those “local and national” figures who put this forward first be held accountable for the 2.5 billion dollars paid to Russia for the S-400s, which we have not unpacked and cannot unpack?

If they have forgotten, let us remind them; because of the S-400s, the US imposed a pile of sanctions on Turkey. On top of that, it seized the F-35s we had already paid for. What is the cost of this? According to what Erdoğan most recently announced, “We have a receivable of 1 billion 450 million dollars.”

If it only stopped there, that would be fine. The money we will pay to America for the 40 F-16s and modernization they are supposedly going to give us in exchange for that 1.5 billion dollar receivable is approximately 23 billion dollars.

Does that make 25 billion dollars?!

And the fact that the US continues its impositions regarding the S-400s is just the icing on the cake.

First, they tested the waters for us to give them to Ukraine.

Then, through the Greek media, they leaked information that negotiations were underway to place the S-400s in a warehouse at Incirlik and hand over the keys to the US.

Did anyone from Ankara come out and thunderously deny this?

Even if nothing happened, something must be going on; Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov underlined that Russia's approval is required for Turkey to sell the S-400s to other countries.

THE SAME FATE FOR EUROFIGHTER?

It doesn't end there. Now, the purchase of 40 Eurofighters from the UK, Germany, and Spain is on the agenda. The cost is around 3.2 billion dollars.

It is said that the UK, Italy, and Spain have given their approval, and we are trying to convince Germany.

You may have heard; Germany gave the green light, but with these conditions:

Erdoğan is to end his harsh statements toward Greece... And we are to give a guarantee not to fly them over the islands in the Aegean!..

In response to these claims, other than the Ministry of National Defense sources saying last week, “We always express that it is not right for allies to impose restrictions or sanctions on each other, and that it is contrary to the spirit of alliance. Our expectation is that our allies will make decisions in accordance with the spirit of the alliance and the common security perspective, and that all overt or covert restrictions will be lifted. There is no official notification reaching our Ministry regarding the news in question,” is there anyone saying, “This is absolutely unacceptable.”?

On the contrary, it was announced as good news that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will come to Istanbul on October 19 to meet with Erdoğan.

I assume he is not coming out of the goodness of his heart.

I am writing it here; let us not be surprised if the fate of the Eurofighters is the same as the S-400s. Germany will only approve their purchase if they are used to support Ukraine or against Iran.

THE NATION HAS GIVEN AND WILL GIVE ITS LIFE FOR THE DEFENSE OF THE HOMELAND

Setting aside the lack of oversight on defense spending, the immediate labeling of those who question it as “traitors,” and the showering of incentives on defense companies that are popping up like weeds; shouldn't someone first be held accountable for the S-400s and F-35s?

What is 750 liras?! This nation has given its life for the defense of the homeland, it is giving it, and it will give it again.

The issue is something else. Like what, you ask?

Like what retired Police Chief Fatih Eryılmaz, a July 15 veteran, wrote the other day:

“I had heard it from my father in my childhood, and I will write it here so that it can be understood how the Turkish Nation views its army and its leaders, and what it expects in return. The year is 1974, the Cyprus Peace Operation has begun. My father is a teacher and the principal of the primary school in Gazi village, Develi, Kayseri, where I also attended primary school. A request is made for aid to be collected from the public for the operation. Our village imam, the village headman, and my father explain the operation and our army's needs to every head of household in the village. The imam effendi speaks about the operation in his Friday sermon and says, ‘Our army needs your help.’ He finishes by saying, ‘May the Lord make the Turkish Army victorious.’ As they leave the mosque, the village headman, the imam, my father the primary school principal, and the village elders take their places at the table where they will collect aid from the villagers.”

“Those leaving the mosque come to the table and make their donations, saying, ‘May God make our army victorious,’ and listen to the news about the operation in the mosque courtyard. The operation and the state of our army are being discussed heatedly in the mosque courtyard. The news coming from the agency is being evaluated. The entire village population participates in the aid mobilization to the best of their ability. A villager named İbrahim, who left the mosque, comes to the area where aid is being collected. Uncle İbrahim's clothes are old, his shoes are quite worn out. His financial situation is weak; he makes a living by selling curd cheese. Uncle İbrahim puts his hand in his pocket. Just as he is about to leave a portion of the money in his pocket at the table, he pauses for a moment and leaves all the money at the table. He turns and walks a few steps without waiting for my father and the others to count the money and record it. At that moment, when he puts his hand in the small pocket of his vest, he realizes there is 5 liras, as I recall. (My father used to say it was worth the price of a bullet in those days.) Taking the 5 liras in his hand, he returns with a sharp step and says to my father, ‘Teacher, take this too, let it kill one more infidel,’ and walks away without a penny left.”

“Because it was the village where the most aid was collected in the region, a letter of thanks was sent to my father from the district governor's office. However, in the news that came later, it was said that the money collected was not used for the operation, but for the provincial and army officers' club.”

“All the villagers are sullen. They feel a sense of betrayal. No matter how disappointed they are, they never bring up the subject. However, they note that they had infinite trust, but saw that they were not worthy of their trust.”

“This nation will sell its jacket; it will protect its army and its state. As long as it trusts. The mind that plans to take 750 TL per credit card with a limit over 100,000 TL; your need is not the money you will collect, but trust. As a first step, collect the taxes that should have been paid but were not from the holdings whose taxes were wiped out, from the contractors who cannot find the opportunity to do anything other than win tenders; do not even take donations. I will mobilize again, this nation will declare a mobilization again.”

Those who label everyone as “DEM, Armenian, or pro-Greek” right off the bat, you understand the issue now, don't you?!

Müyesser YILDIZ

October 16, 2024