CHP's Başarır sends 'we might not see each other for a while' message: Just in case

Before moving to the vote on the 30-article proposal, CHP Group Deputy Chairman Ali Mahir Başarır took the floor to clarify his party's stance. 

Başarır emphasized that the proposal does not protect agricultural lands or farmers, and argued that the country's primary agenda items, such as the minimum wage and pension salaries, should be addressed before the parliament goes into recess.

Stating that the law should have been named 'soil protection and farmer protection,' Başarır expressed that agricultural lands have not been protected over the last twenty-four years, and that thousands of acres of land have been removed from agricultural status and opened for zoning. Başarır said, 'Unfortunately, farming is no longer a recognized, desired, or viable profession or job; villages have emptied out. In fact, we should have been discussing these issues, we should have been discussing the problems of the farmers; protecting the soil and protecting the farmer should have been a whole, but once again, we have approached the issue from a completely different angle.'

'Our vote on the law is a rejection'

Stating that they were unable to discuss the regulations in committees or bring the real problems to light, Başarır noted that farmers are abandoning their villages and lands.

Başarır used the following expressions:

'Many farmers are leaving their villages, leaving their land; the land is empty. Why? Because they cannot take their children to school due to the bussing system. We must discuss all of these—look, village schools, the land, operations, fertilizer prices, seed prices—as a whole. Over the past eight years, more than 10 legislative proposals related to agriculture have been submitted. We have not been able to discuss or debate these problems as a whole here; you took a piece from here, a piece from there, a piece from over there. In fact, this is exactly an omnibus bill, and we haven't solved any problems. Therefore, our vote on this law is a rejection.'

'We might not see each other for a while'

Stating that the primary duty of the parliament is to discuss the nation's problems, Başarır called on deputies, saying, 'If you have the face to go out on the streets in your electoral district, come, let us re-evaluate pension salaries and the minimum wage, and let us discuss them here.' Başarır continued his speech as follows:

'I am making the final speech of this week; just in case, we might not see each other for a while, but let me say this:'

'Look, this Parliament will close in three or four weeks. I want to make the speech I always make one more time. The primary duty of us deputies, of this Parliament, is to discuss the problems of the nation here. Everyone will go on vacation, to their villages, highlands, or the seaside in three or four weeks. If you have the face to go out on the streets in your electoral district, come, let us re-evaluate pension salaries and the minimum wage, and let us discuss them here.'