Erdoğan accuses opposition of 'lack of seriousness' in new constitution debates

AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan went to the US on September 21 to attend the 79th United Nations (UN) General Assembly. President Erdoğan returned to Turkey today. Meeting with journalists at the Turkish House yesterday, President Erdoğan made statements regarding the agenda of Turkey and the world.

Making a general assessment regarding his contacts in the US, President Erdoğan said the following:

"We have had a very busy schedule since Saturday. On the occasion of my visit, in addition to our address to the United Nations General Assembly, we held many contacts and participated in various events. Before the General Assembly meetings, we met with representatives of think tanks on September 22. On the evening of the same day, we attended the traditional dinner of the Turkish American National Steering Committee (TASC). We follow with appreciation the activities carried out by the Turkish-American community in defending the interests of our country. We held consultations with American business circles at the 15th Turkey Investment Conference organized by TAİK. I explained the investment opportunities our country offers to American entrepreneurs. We shared the roadmap for the next period of the Turkish economy with them. America has been the second country we export the most to and the fifth country we import the most from for the last two years. Our bilateral trade volume exceeded 30 billion dollars last year. We believe that we can reach our 100 billion dollar total trade target with good planning.

Dear friends, as you know, this year's General Assembly general debates were held with the theme of 'leaving no one behind'. In the opening session held yesterday, I addressed the United Nations General Assembly and touched upon the steps that need to be taken to bring humanity to a safe and prosperous future. I shared our views on fundamental issues that are important for the preservation of global peace and security. I clearly stated once again that the current international system and institutions have failed in fulfilling their primary duties, especially regarding Gaza.

I pointed out that it is possible for humanity to live in a much fairer world that listens to the voices of the oppressed. During our time in New York, we also held numerous bilateral meetings. In this context, we met with the Presidents of Iran, Serbia, Ukraine, and the Maldives, the Chairman of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan, the Crown Prince of Kuwait, the Prime Ministers of Albania, Pakistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Germany, the Netherlands, Greece, and Armenia, and the United Nations Secretary-General. In our meetings, we discussed our bilateral cooperation issues and the crises in our region in detail.

'ISRAEL IS RESORTING TO EVERY MEANS TO SPREAD THE FIRE TO THE ENTIRE REGION'

I especially emphasized the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. In all my meetings, I expressed to my interlocutors that we must increase aid to Palestine before the approaching winter season, and that we must work in cooperation and intensify pressure on Israel for this. You are already following it moment by moment. Israel is resorting to every means to spread the fire in Gaza to the entire region, exactly as we have been warning for months. The attacks on Lebanon were the latest example of this. Over 600 Lebanese have been massacred in the last week. As long as the world remains silent and Western countries provide arms support to the Israeli administration, these massacres will unfortunately continue. We drew attention to this danger in our meetings. We tried to evaluate the 79th United Nations General Assembly with an extremely intense and productive diplomacy traffic. I hope that the meetings and contacts we have made will be auspicious for all humanity, especially for our country and our nation. Thank you, and now I would like to listen to you."

President Erdoğan's answers to the questions are as follows:

With very little time left until the anniversary of October 7, and with 41 thousand people dead in Palestine, how do you evaluate the fact that no concrete step can be taken to stop Israel at the United Nations, and that a common objection is not raised at the leadership level? While Israel is being tried at the International Court of Justice, Netanyahu is coming here. He is expected to attend the General Assembly and give a speech. What is your comment on this contradiction?

The fact that a criminal who has committed genocide in Palestine can take part under the roof of the United Nations is truly a source of shame. This is a betrayal of the memories of the brutally murdered babies, children, mothers, fathers, United Nations officials, journalists, and many others. If you noticed the attitudes of the Israeli delegation following our United Nations General Assembly speech yesterday, they were in a very strange attitude. Because they have no way to defend themselves. Their stance already shows this. For this reason, we have called and continue to call on everyone to stand on the right side of history.

A system that cannot distinguish between the oppressed and the oppressor, the murderer and the victim, and cannot treat each one as they deserve, is on the verge of decay. Either the United Nations General Assembly treats that murderer as he deserves, or this shameful situation will go down in United Nations history as a black mark. Unfortunately, this is what will happen. Israel is a state that has zero respect for United Nations resolutions and has violated the principles of the United Nations many times. I believe that teaching such a state the necessary lesson with written and visual materials is the most important duty.

For the first time in its 79-year history, the United Nations is putting its own future on the table. In a sense, this means that it is now officially accepted that the United Nations has no equivalent in the world order. In your first address in 2005, you emphasized that the United Nations should reform and change its structure. In the 20 years that have passed, it has once again become clear that the United Nations cannot establish the world's justice and peace. How do you evaluate this point reached? French President Emmanuel Macron also made a similar criticism in recent days. The future is being discussed. Could the future already be the past?

The United Nations is in a position where it cannot fulfill its mission of preventing wars, cannot make anyone listen, and cannot hold Israel accountable for even failing to protect its own officials and killing them. As a matter of fact, when I met with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres yesterday, I was really surprised when he gave me the number of casualties. A serious number of United Nations officials have now fallen victim to Israel's massacres. The United Nations has turned into a structure that guards a system where the strong are right and has lost its functionality. In the current order, the five untouchable members of the United Nations Security Council can do whatever they want ruthlessly.

The temporary members have no function anyway. The states taken as temporary members to the Council are managed there. So where are these permanent members from? Asia, Europe, America... The number of Muslim countries in the world is clear in terms of religion, but none of the Muslim countries are among the permanent members. Now Africa wants permanent membership. Well, is there a place for an African in the United Nations Security Council? No. Does Japan want membership? Yes, it does. Well, is there a place? No. Germany wants it from Europe. There is no place for Germany either. As Turkey, we also want it. There is no place for us either. Why? As Turkey, we, Germany, and Japan are in the position of countries that cannot get what they want here. We will continue our rightful demand. Mr. Guterres also agreed with us in our meeting, but they do not have the power or the means to grant this right.

You also stated in your United Nations address that Israel has started to attack Lebanon after Gaza. You evaluated this as an indication that Israel is actually trying to spread the war to the region. There is also Iran's approach that its right to respond to Israel is reserved. Adding this, what would be Turkey's position and where would it stand in the event of a possible regional war? What kind of action would it take or not take?

First of all, a very serious trauma is being experienced here. Unfortunately, it is the Lebanese people who are suffering in this trauma. Today I watched the evacuation of southern Lebanon. There is a very ruthless picture. Everyone is emptying the region in horse-drawn carriages, with children. It truly hurts our hearts. Our region is facing such a ruthless, such a terrible picture. We are talking about Lebanon, which has a population of 6 million. Where and how will these people flee? How will they continue their lives there? They are hungry, homeless, they have no clothes, they are in their vehicles. They are leaving the region with blankets, whatever they could find. This Lebanon was a different Lebanon during the late Rafic Hariri's era.

It was much richer, stronger. But now that Lebanon is no longer there. Now, we will provide opportunities for Lebanon to recover itself, we will think about how we will return this situation to its original state? Our hope is that Lebanon will overcome this trauma as soon as possible. As far as I can see from today's television broadcasts, the situation in Lebanon is very bad. May God be their helper and supporter. On the other hand, Israel is having a dream, and it seems that it is willing to turn the lives of the peoples in our region into a nightmare to realize that dream. Hitler also had a dream in his time, and he had turned the lives of peoples belonging to various nations into a nightmare. In the end, we saw that he clearly understood that what he saw was a dream. Sooner or later, today's Hitler, Netanyahu, will face this reality. Everyone has a plan, but we believe that God also has a calculation.

You received Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. We know that the Ukrainian President previously said that consultations were held with countries, including Turkey, at a possible peace conference. Did the subject of the Ukraine peace conference come up? If such a situation occurs, will the possible peace conference be held in Turkey?

We said that we are ready to take part in this conference. In this regard, both Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and our intelligence organization will be in contact with them. Our hope is that as Turkey, we will take part in this somewhere in terms of being able to bring this peace to the region. We are perhaps the country that desires a just peace in the Ukraine-Russia war the most. We did not hesitate to take responsibility and we are striving for peace. It is possible for this war to end through diplomacy and dialogue. As long as both the warring parties and other actors believe that we can solve the problems in this way. Unfortunately, we are not close to this right now. We see the fact that we can talk to both the Ukrainian and Russian sides as an advantage on the road to peace. If we can walk this difficult path and reach the goal, we will have done a great service to humanity. Unless the parties abandon provocations, the arms race, and an order where weapons speak instead of people, the hope for peace will not be born in a concrete way. But we will continue to seek that hope without getting tired. We will increase our efforts and work harder.

Outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in his farewell speech, "Without Turkey in the south, the security of the European Continent is unpredictable, impossible." How did you evaluate this statement? Does Europe appreciate Turkey enough? How do you evaluate their perspective?

I truly view Mr. Stoltenberg as a Secretary General who maintained his relations with Turkey in the most ideal way throughout his tenure. He successfully maintained this throughout his NATO Secretary Generalship. He never drew a negative line in his relations with Turkey. Let's see how this situation will continue with Mr. Rutte? Our friendship with the new Secretary General Mark Rutte during his Prime Ministry of the Netherlands was also good. I hope we will continue this solidarity and unity in the NATO Secretary Generalship as well. International organizations and alliances that move away from their founding values and cannot protect them degenerate. If they cannot fix this fundamental defect, they become unable to even perform their main duties. If NATO faces the danger of transforming the principle of "all for one, one for all" into a form like "all for some, some for all," that degeneration begins. Measures must be taken for this and implemented without delay. Especially if the subject is a vital issue like security, there should not be a millimeter of deviation from the principles. Turkey is a reliable ally within NATO that is aware of its obligations and responsibilities and fulfills them completely. We see that Europe knows how valuable Turkey is for NATO, but ignores it from time to time.

As you know, the United States is going to the polls in November. There are known problems in Turkey-America relations. Especially the support given to the terrorist organization continues unabated. At this point, presidents change, but these attitudes that do not befit an alliance do not change in some way. What is your expectation after the election? That is, with the new president, Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, what kind of change can they create, will such a change happen? For example, can there be a return to the F-35 program?

My hope is that the newcomer does not make us miss the one who left. Because we did not experience the F-35 issue in America only during Mr. Donald Trump's term, it continued afterwards. They all caused us this disappointment. Both the Republicans and the Democrats caused it... Now we will see if this will continue in the new process. We have a receivable of 1 billion 450 million dollars. This is not just any figure. Now we will continue to take our steps to collect this receivable. Along with all this, what will the result of the November election bring and take away? We need to see this too. As a result of this, my hope is that we will re-weigh the relations between Turkey and the US accordingly. We will take our steps accordingly. We hope the result will be auspicious.

You had a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. In the messages he has given so far, Pashinyan expresses that he is eager to take relations with both Turkey and Azerbaijan to a more advanced level. In your meeting yesterday, can decisions be taken that can take Turkey-Armenia relations and Turkey-Azerbaijan relations to a more advanced point, especially considering the Zangezur Corridor?

When we look at Mr. Pashinyan's approach, it does not look like a negative atmosphere. As Turkey, they want us to ensure the peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan and for them to live as neighbors in peace as soon as possible. We are already after this, we are in the effort for this. My hope is that we will hopefully resolve these developments between Azerbaijan and Armenia step by step, and by overcoming these troubles between Azerbaijan and Armenia, let's set off. Because both sides are actually in favor of peace. Currently, Azerbaijan is in such an expectation and effort. We saw this in Armenia as well. We think that the climate of peace and tranquility that will be formed will be the best for everyone. The normalization process between Turkey and Armenia will also be positively affected by the positive conclusion of this peace process.

In the recent period, we see that Turkey is increasing its efforts to enter into different alternative global partnerships such as BRICS and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Our Foreign Minister has also had trips and statements in this direction. I think you are also going to attend the BRICS summit next month. In this sense, we have read some criticisms in the foreign press, we have read criticisms about Turkey, a NATO member, being a member of BRICS. In this sense, what are your predictions that you see as positive or negative regarding becoming a member of BRICS?

First of all, our presence in BRICS and ASEAN, our appearance there, I believe, will also change the arithmetic of the regions. It will lead to the construction of a much different structure. We cannot put aside the fact that we have ties with Continental Europe and America as much as our relations with Central Asia, Russia, the Baltic region, or the Far East. Likewise, while we have a deep-rooted history with the Arab geography and the Gulf countries, we also have close relations with Africa. As a result, the geography we are in and our thousands of years of history encourage us to create such a diverse partnership architecture. Just because we are a NATO country does not mean we can cut our connection with the Turkish world and the Islamic world. BRICS and ASEAN are structures that contain opportunities for us, especially to develop our economic cooperation. Being in these structures does not mean giving up on NATO. We do not think that these alliances and cooperations are alternatives to each other. Although there are some international tensions in today's world, the Cold War era is far behind. When you look at those who tell us "do not join BRICS or another structure," they are the same people who kept us waiting for years at the door of the European Union, which we have been working to be a part of for years. We can never determine our future by looking at them.

You express at every opportunity that the new Constitution is a necessity. You said that the first 4 articles are the red line of the People's Alliance. However, the opposition has a resistance such as not participating in the process for various reasons. Do you think the opposition will act sincerely in this persistent search for consensus?

First of all, the opposition has no seriousness in these matters, especially starting with these first 4 articles. They only say this. But at this point, they have no such thought about what the government says or thinks. As the People's Alliance, we stand where we are on this issue, we are determined, and we continue on our way with the same determination. We cannot prepare Turkey for the future without putting forward a new, civil, inclusive, and libertarian constitution that is suitable for the requirements of the age. We should not hesitate at all. Look, the world is changing rapidly. It is not possible to keep up with this change with a constitution that has turned into a patchwork quilt, written by coup plotters, with the perspective of 45-50 years ago. We need to walk into the future with a very vibrant, new constitution. Without narrowing the subject to the first 4 articles, we should focus on the question "What kind of a constitution should we make?" We have no problem with the first 4 articles of the constitution. Along with all this, we have a problem with the coup mentality that wanders between the lines of the constitution. We need a visionary constitution that will build the future of our country's youth and prepare them for competition with the world. We will do this. As the People's Alliance, the Nationalist Movement Party has already made its preparations. We have made our preparations in the same way. We will hopefully continue on our way by integrating these preparations with each other. I believe that we will hopefully create a strong constitution.

In your speech on August 30, you emphasized the internal front and said; "Economic difficulties and discussions in daily politics cannot cause us permanent damage. However, if a gap opens in our internal front, this will be extremely costly and we will all lose." What will be your message to our nation regarding the internal front?

The internal front is the values that make us who we are. We must all experience together the state of rejoicing at the same thing, feeling sad at the same thing, being moved by the same poem, and our chests swelling with the same anthem. Along with all this, our internal front goals are our Red Apple. I focused on this heavily in my August 30 speech. Those who try to make us give up on those goals, make us fall into despondency, and drag us into a whirlpool of hopelessness are targeting that internal front. We will not let that internal front collapse. We are very determined there. Along with all this, we must say this once. Is there a difficulty? We will overcome it. Is there a problem? We will solve it. Is there trouble? We will overcome it together. Did we fall? We will hold on to each other and get up again. Our colors and shapes may be different, but we come together and create the most unique motif. This is the spirit that those who aim to collapse our internal front focus on. They are trying to tear this spirit apart. They want us not to hold on to each other again. They want us to consume our lives in our own capsules in corners separate from everyone else and disappear. We will definitely not give them this opportunity. We will continue on our way with determination.

Turkey's economic program, which it has been implementing since June 2023, is being closely followed at home and abroad. One of the most important returns of the program's international follow-up is, of course, the credit rating increases of these credit rating agencies. Finally, after the rating increase announced last time, there are messages that a rating increase may come from Standard and Poor's on November 1. Therefore, I am curious about your views on the performance and course of the economic program.

We are leaving the difficult periods behind in the economy. International organizations are now revealing the success of the program we are implementing more than we are. The issue we are currently focusing on is the inflation problem that is straining our nation. We have started to curb inflation and have started the permanent disinflation process. We are seeing a decline in inflation that is not momentary but has its feet firmly on the ground, and this will continue to accelerate. Our citizens have started to feel this decline in inflation and they will see it more quickly in the coming period. We will also continue our fight against opportunists with determination. We will not give them a chance. We have met our targets and we are continuing on our way in a disciplined manner. Moreover, we have achieved these despite the turmoil and sources of instability around us. We are continuing on our way in this way.

My question will be about the AK Party. You have started the congress process and you are giving a very strong signal of change. What are you thinking of changing? Also, after July 15, you took very important steps regarding civil-military relations, especially the democratic transformation of the armed forces, but it seems that a second-stage reform is a need in Ankara after the recent sword-clashing incident. Will you take some measures at this point as well?

For 23 years, we have been telling Turkey about the new and presenting the new. Within that new, our values that make us who we are take place in the freshest form. As Mevlana said, one leg of our compass is fixed on those values, and the other leg is traveling the world. We have read the nation's message in the most accurate way, and we say change to fulfill the requirement of that message. The change we are talking about is a rebirth move. As Yunus said, "We are reborn every moment. Who would get tired of us?" We are now fulfilling the requirement of this.

As for the sword issue, this issue was unfortunately a chaos created by a few ignorant people. Currently, both the National Defense University, the Land Forces Command, and our Minister of National Defense are continuing their joint work, and we will ensure that those who are involved in this receive the punishment they deserve. This is not a field where the ignorant play games. We definitely cannot leave our country to the field where these ignorant people play games. We will take our steps accordingly. We met with our Minister of Defense and the professor at the head of our Defense University, we held our meetings, and hopefully, we will bring this matter to a conclusion as soon as possible.

News Source: 12punto