They say support for the PKK opening is 75.9%... Why don't you ask these questions too!..

The phrase that politicians supporting the “State-terrorist leader” opening, which the government presents as a “terror-free Turkey,” keep repeating is: “We have never allowed any initiative that would disturb the souls of our martyrs or hurt our martyrs' families and veterans; and we will never allow it from now on.”

Let us give a few examples of how much they care about our martyrs.

As is known, last week was the 9th anniversary of the July 15 coup attempt, in which 251 of our citizens were martyred. The government kept saying that the US was behind July 15 and that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was the financier. Despite this, they did not let their relations with the US be damaged for even a single day, and they embraced the UAE a few years later.

What happened on this anniversary? One day later, UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was hosted at the Palace... 7 agreements were signed... Erdoğan spoke of reaching a trade volume of 40 billion dollars with the UAE... One of the newspapers of the government, which previously wanted a July 15 lawsuit to be filed against the UAE and declared Al Nahyan a “dishonorable person,” headlined this visit as a “Strategic partnership summit”!..

DID A DRONE HIT TEACHERS AYBÜKE AND NECMETTİN?

Yesterday was the 51st anniversary of our Cyprus Peace Operation. But our struggle against Enosis plans began in the 1960s. During the Erenköy resistance in 1964, the Greeks martyred our air pilot Cengiz Topel through torture.

Cengiz Topel's name had been given to a street in Yüksekova, Hakkari, as it had been in many other places.

“Following the 'State-terrorist leader' opening, the DEM-run Yüksekova Municipality removed our martyr's name from that street and gave it the name of Sırrı Süreyya Önder, and not a single official made a sound. Fortunately, BBP's Sivas Mayor Dr. Adem Uzun changed the name of a street to Cengiz Topel in protest, but this does not compensate for the indecency in Yüksekova!..

Let us continue.

No one from the provincial protocol attended the mevlid-i şerif (religious memorial service) held on the 40th day of the martyrdom of Specialist Sergeant Önder Özen, who was martyred in northern Iraq on May 3. His father, Hasan Özen, expressed his resentment with the words, “We experienced great sadness. My son, who fought for our country, was forgotten within 40 days. No official came.”

Anything else?

On the day we had 12 soldiers martyred in a PKK cave, Erdoğan was discussing the “opening” with the DEM-affiliated Imralı team!..

Anything else?

June 9 was the 8th anniversary of the death of teacher Aybüke Yalçın, and July 14 was the 8th anniversary of the death of teacher Necmettin Yılmaz. The murderer of both was the PKK.

At the commemoration of teacher Aybüke, who was martyred in Kozluk, Batman, her father Sadık Yalçın said:

“Those who have caused us this pain for 8 years are ignoble. Those who have no lineage have no conscience, no mercy, and no homeland. Damn them. Our glorious soldiers and police are fighting them.”

And our officials, did they remember teacher Aybüke, but more importantly, did they remember the PKK?

The Deputy Governor, the District Governor of Kargı, the Mayor of Osmancık, and the Provincial Director of National Education attended this year's commemoration ceremony.

However, at last year's commemoration, citizens in Kozluk marched for teacher Aybüke and, holding Turkish flags, chanted slogans such as, “Turks and Kurds are brothers, the PKK is treacherous,” “Damn the PKK,” “Martyrs do not die, the homeland is indivisible.” AKP Çorum Deputy Oğuzhan Kaya attended the 2023 commemoration and explained that “under Erdoğan's leadership, no passage has been given to terror and terrorists.”

What about those in Ankara?

Although the Minister of National Education, the Minister of Interior, former Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, and some MHP members remembered teacher Aybüke, they could not bring themselves to say “PKK” or “terrorist organization.”

Similar scenes were experienced at the commemoration of Necmettin Yılmaz, who was kidnapped and killed after his vehicle was set on fire by PKK terrorists in Pülümür when he was an 8-month teacher. The Governor of Gümüşhane, who attended the program at his grave, said, “They martyred our child,” but did not say who martyred him... Yet, at last year's ceremony, the Governor of the time had said, “Our child was unfortunately martyred by PKK terrorists... Our pain is fresh, and our hatred against the PKK terrorist organization is also fresh.”

Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin commemorated teacher Necmettin without mentioning “PKK” or “terror”... Fortunately, Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya was able to say “treacherous terrorists”... There was no sound from Erdoğan and Bahçeli, who in past years used the expressions “terrorist organization PKK” and “treacherous terrorist organization” thunderously while commemorating both of our teachers.

IS JULY 11 A “NATIONAL” DAY?

Let us move on to another important issue.

We remember like yesterday how MHP Leader Devlet Bahçeli resisted and what he said during the first opening process.

When the Prime Minister of the time organized a “flag-hanging campaign” in 2013, he said, “You will both negotiate with the Imralı villain, look for opportunities for house arrest, and embrace the PKK to divide Turkey; and you will also protect the Turkish flag... Go and look with awe and admiration at those who hang the posters of the Imralı villain and the bloody rags of the PKK on the streets, squares, and houses. Nothing else suits you, nothing else is appropriate for you.”

The reason we remember this?

As is known, on July 11, the separatist terrorist organization symbolically burned 30 weapons for its new opening show. Erdoğan made the following call one day later:

“Thank God, the 41-year parenthesis is closing. The wall of terror built between the members of our nation is being demolished. Instead of being uneasy, every member of our beloved nation should rejoice and celebrate because of this picture; every street, avenue, and household in Turkey should be decorated with our crescent-star flag.”

Upon this, many public institutions hung flags. What was surprising was that the TSK (Turkish Armed Forces), Gendarmerie, and Police, which have the most martyrs, immediately decorated all their buildings with flags. The Ministry of National Defense, the General Staff, and the Force Commands removed the flags after the July 15 commemoration passed, but they remain in other institutions.

The reason we draw attention to this detail is as follows: According to the Turkish Flag Law and Regulation, the hoisting or placing of flags, except for national days, liberation days, and Atatürk commemoration days, is subject to the permission of the local civil authority. It is also stipulated that “flags can be used in national sports competitions and in ceremonies and weddings if national traditions require it.”

Now, if we ask, “Is the burning of 30 weapons by the separatist terrorist organization considered a national day?” would someone get angry?!

BAHÇELİ'S QUESTIONS

While their new partner DEM does not even accept the name “terror-free Turkey,” both the AKP and MHP argue that the nation supports the “Terror-free Turkey” process. In fact, AKP Deputy Chairman Efkan Ala recently gave a percentage; according to the polls they conducted, 75.9% of society is satisfied with the process and the citizens are saying, “solve this issue as soon as possible.” Who wouldn't want terror to end; even this rate is low, but the issue is in the “how.”

Let us explain with Bahçeli's words from the 2013 opening. He said;

“The villain and his gang, whom Prime Minister Erdoğan hopes for peace and solution from and is a slave to at his door, is the number one enemy of the Turkish nation... The Imralı villain is not the leader of my Kurdish-origin citizens, and he will not be... If the pro-government polling companies that help and abet the AKP had asked direct questions without hiding the real purpose, for example, if they had asked what you think about the meetings with the Imralı villain or whether you accept the meetings with the PKK, know that it would have emerged in the published polls that our nation completely rejects this disgraceful process.”

Let us add the following to those questions:

“Do you consider the terrorist leader a 'founding leader'?.. They want not only the terrorist leader but all PKK members to be freed and to engage in politics... They want Sèvres, not Lausanne... They want to be partners in the state... They want our unity of nation and language to be broken... They want those who fight against terror to be held accountable... They want us to recognize the so-called PKK administration in Syria... What do you say, shall we accept?”

Ask the nation these as well, let's see what percentage of support will come out!..

Müyesser YILDIZ

July 21, 2025