Breaking News... First comments from Devlet Bahçeli on school attacks: 'Our children, our future, are under digital siege'

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahçeli made statements regarding the agenda at his party's group meeting in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM).

Our Chairman Mr. Devlet BAHÇELİ is speaking at the Group Meeting https://t.co/toxcyJ3jN3

— MHP (@MHP_Bilgi) April 21, 2026

Bahçeli chose not to speak about the dismissals that have occurred within MHP organizations in recent weeks. On Bahçeli's agenda were the school attacks in Şanlıurfa and Kahramanmaraş, as well as the second opening process referred to as a 'Terror-Free Turkey'.

Addressing the school attacks during the majority of his speech, Bahçeli said:

"It is essential that the process be handled with a cool-headed, common-sense, and multi-faceted perspective, along with all its causes, consequences, and the developments in the background.

The issue here cannot be treated merely as a matter of public order. The picture before us must be evaluated in conjunction with the pressures our age places on the child's psyche, the loosening of family bonds, the support the school climate requires, the uncontrolled areas of the digital world, and the fractures in the transmission of social values.

If violence, anger, loneliness, and a desire for imitation are accumulating simultaneously in a child's mind, it is not just a matter of criminal law that is occurring. At the same time, a sign appears that society must read carefully.

The danger of the modern age often does not arrive as openly and visibly as the dangers of the old age. Sometimes it comes from behind a screen, sometimes it comes within the language of games. Sometimes it comes under the guise of a circle of friends. Sometimes it settles into the silence of a lonely child. Sometimes, anger directed by algorithms and imitation provoked by virtual crowds settle into the weak moment of a soul seeking belonging.

In today's world, where digitalization is becoming more widespread every day, the fact that our children spend an increasing amount of time in front of screens, their greater exposure to the aggressive language used on social media, and the insidious spread of peer bullying within friend groups, messaging and chat applications, and games, are damaging our children's mental health, harming their identity development, and eroding their social lives from within, condemning them to a virtual world.

Our children, our future, are under digital siege."

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Highlights from Bahçeli's speech are as follows:

At the beginning of my words, I respectfully salute the cherished memory of April 23, the 106th anniversary of which we are observing. The opening of the TBMM is a momentous turning point for a nation that disrupted the direction of imperialism and brought so-called empires to their knees. While the four corners of the country were occupied and the Turkish nation was surrounded by the threat of subjugation, the torch lit in Ankara rose up in Anatolia. Our nation took control of its own destiny. The TBMM derived its legitimacy from the heart of the Turkish nation. The Turkish nation, in turn, derived its right to sovereignty from its soil, which was watered with the blood of martyrs. That faith remains unshakable today. 

"THE FIRST ASSEMBLY IS THE FOUNDING INTELLECT"

Commemorating April 23 only as a holiday narrows its history. April 23 is the will to think without falling apart in the face of crisis. April 23 is the ability to transform social pain into a founding political intellect. Our Veteran Assembly is the source of pride for our beloved nation's future license. And it will remain forever. It is no coincidental will that April 23 was gifted to our future generations.

A child is as much the human essence of the state as they are a student of a school. A child is the clearest mirror showing the moral level of society. A nation's view of its children is its view of its own state. It also reveals its understanding of humanity and its claim to civilization. April 23 is our pledge to the future.

"TURKISH YOUTH SHOULD NOT BE SQUEEZED BETWEEN TESTS AND TOASTS"

Turkish youth should not be a generation squeezed between tests and toasts, forced to fit their dreams into 5 options, running from exam to exam to accumulate points, and missing out on life while chasing certificates.

ATTACKS IN SCHOOLS

(Incidents in Şanlıurfa and Kahramanmaraş) These grave developments have opened wounds in consciences. It is not just a matter of criminal law; it must be handled in a multi-faceted way. It is essential that it be handled with a cool-headed, common-sense perspective. In today's world, where digitalization is becoming more widespread every day, the increase in children's screen time and peer bullying in friend groups and chat groups are damaging our children's mental health. It is condemning them to a virtual world.

"OUR CHILDREN, OUR FUTURE, ARE UNDER DIGITAL SIEGE"

They think they gain prestige with increasing follower counts. Our children, our future, are under digital siege. It is an undeniable fact that digital platforms and chat rooms have ceased to be innocent communication spaces and have turned into a corruption line for praising crime and criminals in the hands of the shameless. The danger before us is a climate of digital subversion that legitimizes crime. We cannot abandon them to subversive structures and the calls of the shameless.

"WE WILL BE AMONG THOSE WHO UPROOT THE PROBLEM"

The solution is not just a security guard waiting at the school gate. The solution is not cameras placed everywhere. The issue is deeper, the issue is more grave. We will be among those who uproot the problem. This struggle is not a struggle to save the day, but to build the future. The family is the child's first school, the school is the child's second home. The state is the child's protective roof. If these three bonds crack, the child becomes lonely. What needs to be done is to listen to them, understand them, and guide them. A lonely child searches in the crowd of social media. Instead of a love of life, they may find a curiosity for violence. It is necessary to listen to them, understand them, and raise them within a safe world of meaning. A child is a trust that demands safety.

"FAMILIES' DIGITAL AWARENESS CAPACITIES MUST BE INCREASED"

An educational approach that trivializes the teacher is stillborn. It is our teachers who hold small hands, open their minds with knowledge, and strengthen the light in their eyes. The future of a nation whose teachers are weakened cannot be strong. Supporting families is equally vital. When the family is left alone, the child is also left alone. It is necessary to strengthen the family and strengthen the school-family-state cooperation. It should not produce a language of conflict. Coordination between bureaucratic institutions must be strengthened. Families' digital awareness capacities must be increased.

"NO ONE SHOULD BE EAGER TO PRODUCE POLITICS OVER THE LIVES OF OUR CHILDREN"

The meaning of April 23 today lies in this balance. Everyone who makes decisions on behalf of the nation is responsible before history regarding the safety and future of the child. Our call today is a call for common sense. Common sense is the will of society to repair itself without losing itself. No one should be eager to derive words over the lives of our children or produce politics over the tears of our nation.

"OUR CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE"

Our demand is clear. Our call is a necessity. The causes must be investigated to the end. Permanent measures that will ensure school safety and our children's mental health must be taken without wasting time. The establishment of an investigation commission is a correct step. Our children are our future. Our future is above all kinds of polemics.