Erdoğan addresses AKP organization: Agenda is Palestine and local elections

President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated that Turkey is doing and will continue to do everything in its power to stop the oppression in Gaza and to ensure peace and tranquility in the region, saying, "We invite those who slander their own state and nation through lies, distortion, and manipulation to act with reason, conscience, and foresight."

Greeting everyone who has supported their cause day and night from the largest province to the most remote corner of Turkey, Erdoğan said, "I praise our Lord for allowing us to reach another Ramadan Feast in health, peace, and well-being. In your person, I sincerely congratulate the feast of our AK Party organizations and every one of my 85 million citizens who have set their hearts on the AK Party."

Taking this opportunity to also sincerely celebrate the feast of all Muslims around the world and the entire Islamic world, Erdoğan said, "May the Lord accept your fasts and worship. I pray to the Lord that He allows us all to reach many more Ramadans in the coming years in health and peace."

Expressing that while the nation observes the feast in security and peace, their brothers and sisters in different corners of their heartland, especially in Gaza, are suffering oppression, being massacred, and facing hunger and famine, Erdoğan noted that the Palestinian people, who have been subjected to pressure, violence, and torment in their occupied lands for decades, are spending the feast, like the holy month of Ramadan, in sorrow.

''LIES, DISTORTION, AND MANIPULATION''

President Erdoğan continued as follows:

"The pain of our 34 thousand Palestinian brothers and sisters who were bombed and martyred under these bombs in the last 6 months breaks our hearts along with their families. May God help our Gazan brothers and sisters; may He surround them with His mercy, compassion, and victory. Hopefully, as we have done until today, we will continue to uphold the Palestinian cause and stand by the oppressed in Gaza. We once again entrust to God those who ignore the upright and resolute stance our country has displayed for 21 years in solidarity with the oppressed. We invite those who slander their own state and nation through lies, distortion, and manipulation to act with reason, conscience, and foresight. Turkey has done and is doing everything in its power to stop the oppression in Gaza and to ensure peace and tranquility in the region."

Pointing out that Turkey is the second country in the world to provide the most aid to Gaza with a total of 45 thousand tons of humanitarian aid sent to the region to date, Erdoğan said, "Even if the exploiters in our country do not see how our country has mobilized all its resources for Gaza and Palestine, the oppressed in the field see it very well."

''EVEN IF SOME DO NOT KNOW ...''

Erdoğan stated, "Finally, we have taken additional measures against Israel due to the obstruction of our efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza by air. We will continue these measures until the decisions of the United Nations Security Council and the International Court of Justice are implemented, and until uninterrupted, unhindered, and sufficient humanitarian aid is delivered to Gaza. Even if some do not know, or even if they distort it despite knowing, we are concerned with fulfilling our duty of brotherhood before history and conscience. Even if we pay a price for this, as long as God gives us life, we will not refrain from protecting the oppressed."

''WE ARE READING THE MESSAGES GIVEN BY THE NATION AT THE BALLOT BOX IN ALL THEIR DIMENSIONS''

Stating that they have left the elections behind as a nation with their heads held high, Erdoğan wished once again that the results of the March 31 Local Administration General Elections would be beneficial to the country and the cities.

Congratulating the mayors, council members, and mukhtars who took office with the will manifested at the ballot box, Erdoğan also thanked the citizens who strengthened the power of democracy by exercising their democratic rights.

President Erdoğan also expressed his gratitude to the justice and security forces, poll workers, and members of political parties who ensured that the elections were conducted without any problems.

Expressing his heartfelt thanks to all his fellow travelers and comrades who serve at different levels of the AKP, whose efforts, diligence, and sincerity he knows very well, Erdoğan also thanked the MHP, with whom they walk together in the People's Alliance.

Underlining that the election results are, of course, the subject of a separate and comprehensive evaluation, Erdoğan assessed, "Like every party, we are conducting and will conduct an accounting of the elections. Without ever taking the easy way out, we are reading the messages given by the nation at the ballot box in all their dimensions and analyzing them down to the finest detail. We took the first step of this at the Central Executive Board meeting we held last week. Hopefully, we will continue our consultations by constantly expanding the circle."

Emphasizing that the AKP won the favor of the nation just 15 months after its establishment and came out first in all 17 elections it entered in 22 years, Erdoğan stated that the background of their election successes lies in the strong bridges of heart they have always built with the nation.

Erdoğan noted that they have always demonstrated their difference in terms of renewing, updating, and setting off with renewed strength and energy, and that they will continue their political journey in the same way.

''I EXPECT YOU TO BE VIGILANT AGAINST CENTERS OF SEDITION''

President Erdoğan spoke as follows:

"I would like to remind you of this point once again here. We are people who have submitted to the warning, 'There may be good in what you see as evil.' We are a cadre that believes with all our hearts that there is good in what happens. The March 31 election results will, with God's permission, turn into good for our AK Party, for the future of our cause, and for the independence and future of Turkey. The AK Party and the People's Alliance will emerge from this process much stronger. We do not have the slightest doubt about this. I expect you never to fall into despair, not to fall into discord, and to be vigilant against the centers of sedition that try to sow discord among us. May the Lord make our unity, togetherness, and brotherhood permanent. I hope that the spiritual atmosphere of the Ramadan Feast, which surrounds us all, will rivet and root these feelings of ours."

''LET US NOT TURN OUR BACKS ON THE OPPRESSED WHO HAVE TAKEN REFUGE IN TURKEY''

Stating that the feast days, when God softens hearts, offer great opportunities to the nation, Erdoğan said:

"On the occasion of these exceptional days, we remember our ancient brotherhood that goes from eternity to eternity. By resolving resentments, reconciling those who are estranged, and seeking forgiveness, we are renewing our brotherhood, which is our strongest fortress as a nation. If there are those who are estranged among our organization members or among our citizens, let them not neglect to seek forgiveness, embrace, and hug each other on the occasion of this feast. While experiencing the joy of the feast, let us not refrain from visiting our elders, relatives, and kin. Let us definitely call our friends with whom we share the same homeland soil. Let us knock on the doors of those in need. Let us all mobilize together so that the orphans and fatherless, who are God's trust to us, do not spend these holy days in sorrow. Let us especially look after, visit, and kiss the hands of our elderly, our venerable ones, who have no one left in the world. Let us not turn our backs on the oppressed who have fled the war, terrorism, or oppression in their countries and have taken refuge in Turkey as a last resort. In particular, let us take care to include the trusts of our martyrs in our feast joy. Let us realize these holy days in a way that befits their spirit, meaning, and importance by turning them into a mobilization of embracing in all our 81 provinces."

News Source: AA