Babacan's 'not halal' outburst over Bahçeli's Öcalan remarks: Regarding elections and terror incidents

In his speech, Babacan touched upon the statements of Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahçeli and the Newborn Gang, saying the following:

"WE DO NOT HAVE A SINGLE HOUR TO LOSE"

"I am saying this very clearly, emphasizing it, and addressing the government: Mr. Erdoğan and Mr. Bahçeli; we do not have a single day, not even a single hour to lose. Save Turkey from this problem it has been suffering from for decades. Do what is necessary to make Turkey a country where mothers do not cry and children do not enter the soil at a young age. If you do not, or cannot do it, we are ready to do it! And as soon as we come to power, we will roll up our sleeves and start working. It is possible to hold the hand extended from Diyarbakır in İzmir, to shed tears in Sakarya for a lament sung in Hakkari, and to be a remedy in Şırnak for a mother crying in Uşak. The key that will make Turkey one, that will make it united with its east and west, is in all of our hands. This will happen... Sooner or later it will happen... We are ready to put all our existence, our body, on the line for this to happen."

"WE HAVE TWO OPTIONS AHEAD OF US"

"Turkey is facing a new crossroads. We have two options ahead of us: Either we will continue with the old problems and the wounds opened by the old politics, or we will choose a new path for ourselves in the 102nd year of the Republic. Either we will discuss decades-old issues over and over again and spend all our energy on this, or we will trust in reason and common sense and work for a new Turkey free from the problems of the past. Either we will walk looking behind us with anxiety, or we will walk towards the future with self-confidence, always looking forward."

"ARMED STRUGGLE IS NOT ENOUGH"

"For all these years, we have always acted with our principles and our understanding of political ethics. We have never said anything we did not believe in, and we have never denied today what we said tomorrow. Whatever we said, we recorded it, wrote it down, and created a plan and program. We said it everywhere we went, we always said it. I repeat and I address the government from here. The fight against terrorism is successful and achieves its goal when it is carried out with a comprehensive approach. The fight against an armed organization is certainly carried out with armed forces. However, we have always said, and we are still saying, that it cannot be done with weapons alone. Armed struggle is not enough to eliminate the existence of the organization."

"MR. ERDOĞAN MUST CLARIFY HIS PARTNER'S WORDS"

 "What has been said and done since October 1st has not passed a sincerity test. We do not know if what the government is doing is just a tactic aimed at reaching the numbers of 360 or 400 in Parliament. We do not know if there is a strategy behind Bahçeli's words that state institutions are working on. And we do not trust it. So much wavering, such a big U-turn... These do not create trust in us. Moreover, if a real effort is to be made for a solution, the government itself is the one that should know best that this cannot be done by touching the nerve endings of our society. Since the place for a solution is Parliament, the People's Alliance (Cumhur İttifakı) must come to Parliament and explain what Bahçeli meant by his words. Mr. Erdoğan must clarify his partner's words."

"THEY WON THE ELECTION WITH EDITED VIDEOS, IT IS NOT HALAL"

Babacan said, "Let us remember: What did Mr. Bahçeli say while heading towards the 2023 general elections? Did he not say that the HDP is the seventh partner? Did he not say that these people are with terrorists? Did Mr. Erdoğan not show edited videos, 'fake' videos in the rally squares? They deceived... Not just with interest rates, exchange rates, and inflation... Yes, they deceived... They said these people are with terrorists, they deceived. They deceived with edited videos. That is why I say that the 52 percent they received in the 2023 elections is a result they obtained by deceiving our nation. It is not halal! The People's Alliance won the election, but they did not win it in a halal way. They won by deceiving."

"I WISH MERCY UPON OUR MARTYRS"

Emphasizing that the terrorist attack on the TUSAŞ facilities should be investigated in every aspect, Babacan said, "Yesterday, in Ankara, in our capital, and in broad daylight, a treacherous terrorist act was carried out. The TUSAŞ facilities, one of the most important institutions of our defense industry, were targeted. Moreover, this incident occurred exactly one day after Mr. Bahçeli uttered those words about the terrorist organization that surprised and astonished everyone. I condemn with hatred this terrorist act, which has many dark aspects and should be investigated in every aspect. I wish mercy from God upon our martyrs; I offer my condolences to their families, relatives, and our entire defense industry community. I wish a speedy recovery to our wounded. I call on the government once again from here to resolutely address the possible intelligence and security weaknesses regarding yesterday's terrorist act and to take all kinds of precautions so that similar acts do not happen again."

"THE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM IS SEPARATE, DEMOCRATIZATION EFFORTS ARE SEPARATE"

"I would also like to underline that our country's democratization efforts must proceed on a separate, independent track from the fight against terrorism. Whatever needs to be done regarding the fundamental rights and freedoms of our own citizens must be implemented immediately. Rights and freedoms should never be a subject of bargaining."

"AS LONG AS THE PKK EXISTS, IT WILL NOT BE POSSIBLE TO TALK ABOUT NORMALIZATION"

"It is necessary to get to the root causes of terrorism. It is necessary to isolate the organization. It is necessary to face the regional countries, Russia, and the USA openly. The government needs to say, 'Do you want internal peace in Syria and Iraq, do not play games.' These things must be explained to these countries. The PKK is an anachronistic structure; it must be explained that the PKK is a structure that does not coincide with today's regional realities and is one of the most important obstacles to peace and stability. As long as the PKK exists, it will not be possible to talk about normalization in either Iraq or Syria."

"OUR COUNTRY IS BEING ASSOCIATED WITH GANGS"

Making evaluations regarding the Newborn Gang, Babacan said, "The following is always said about Turkey: A country surrounded by seas on three sides, famous for its natural beauties. A country famous for its seas, plains, and mountains. A valuable country with its ancient cities and geography. But we have reached such a point that our country is no longer on the agenda with its natural beauties, but with its gangs. From north to south, from east to west, everywhere is a gang. The streets are gangs, the neighborhoods are gangs, the bazaars and marketplaces where tradesmen open shops are gangs. Recently, a new one has been added to these gangs. I am talking about the Newborn Gang, from those news reports that I, like many of you, read while being ashamed of my humanity... Imagine such a gang that they snatch one-day, two-day-old healthy babies from their mothers' arms and subject them to medical torture for the sake of money. Imagine such a gang that they do not care whether the babies subjected to torture live or die... They talk about our babies who are about to die as if they are less valuable than objects... This is a gang that does not even hesitate to threaten our prosecutors for the sake of their interests, and it is clear that they trust someone and derive their power from someone," he said.

"THE CURSES OF MOTHERS, THE UNWORN BOOTIES ARE YOUR WORK"

Pointing out that government practices lead to social decay and moral collapse, Babacan said, "We can call this evil social decay, we can call it moral collapse. However, when talking about this decay, we cannot speak as if we are talking about a calamity that has befallen us, a natural disaster. Without putting the causes and consequences on the table, without talking about those who created this rottenness, especially without talking about those responsible and those who turned a blind eye, what we say will be incomplete, it will be wrong... Yes, I am addressing them! Those who place people in public positions through nepotism! Those who eliminate those who do not have connections through unfair interviews! Those who paved the way for this moral collapse! Yes, I am talking about you. This rottenness is your work... Those who distribute tenders to specific addresses! Those who legitimize eating haram! This rottenness is your work... Those who see the state as a place to be exploited and to profit from! Those who chase unfair rent from the municipality in the smallest district to the metropolitan cities! This rottenness is your work... With your sins that you do not care about, you paved the way for greater sins. The curses of mothers who bury their babies without being able to hug them, the cries of fathers, the cradles standing empty in homes, the unworn booties, they are all your work, the work of those you paved the way for," he said.