Group proposals rejected by AKP and MHP

In the Parliament General Assembly, following off-agenda speeches and evaluations by group deputy chairmen, the assembly moved on to the political parties' proposals regarding the agenda. Proposals for preliminary discussions to be held today on the Saadet Party's "Retirement Age Victims (EYT)", the IYI Party's "unemployment", and the CHP's "violence against women" were addressed.

Speaking on his party's group proposal, Saadet Party İzmir Deputy Mustafa Bilici claimed that the problems of all segments of society in Turkey are continuing to increase.

Claiming that the policies implemented to solve these problems are merely "band-aid" solutions rather than actual treatment, Bilici said, "The government, which makes the lives of our citizens unbearable with wrong policies in education, health, and justice, continues to hurt retirees and ignore them, as if this were not enough. There are those who have retired under EYT but have not yet received their pensions. The grievances of EYT victims never leave the agenda. The government ignores the demands of this segment, which it views as a burden on the economy, by turning a deaf ear."

"PARLIAMENT HAS A RESPONSIBILITY"

İYİ Party Bursa Deputy Yüksel Selçuk Türkoğlu argued that Turkey has become a country of grievances under the AKP government, stating that even they can no longer keep up with the grievances.

Expressing that the increase in the retirement age for citizens whose insurance began after September 8, 1999, has created an unfair system, Türkoğlu said, "If your SGK registration was created as of September 9, 1999, you retire 17 years later if you are a woman, and exactly 20 years later if you are a man. Where is the justice in this? Shouldn't these processes be handled with a tiered regulation based on the age of 43 and subsequent ages? Parliament has a responsibility to legislate on this matter."

"EYT VICTIMS ARE NOT A BURDEN TO ANYONE"

CHP Adana Deputy Ayhan Barut stated that while the government has taken steps regarding those affected by the retirement age, everyone sees that this step is insufficient.

Stating that millions of people who define themselves as EYT victims are still looking for a solution to their problems, Barut said, "It should be known that EYT victims are not a burden to anyone. These people have worked for years for their country and nation with great sacrifices. At this point, hundreds of thousands of people have not been able to retire despite having the right, and the grievances continue. Those who started working after September 8, 1999, are forced to work 17 years longer, even if it is just one day later. In addition to all this, the change made to pension calculations has paved the way for another grievance. While millions of EYT victims wait for a remedy to these injustices, the government does not even care. The problems of EYT victims must be solved, and pension accrual rates must be returned to their former state."

"THERE WERE PROMISES WE COULD NOT FULFILL"

AKP Ankara Deputy Orhan Yegin reminded that political parties can make various promises to citizens before elections.

Stating that as the AKP, they strive to fulfill whatever they promise to the citizens before every election, Yegin said, "Of course, there were things we could not fulfill, but we also implemented many issues that were not among our promises for the benefit of the citizens. The AK Party has never voiced the EYT issue as a political promise, but at the point we have reached, a step has been taken to solve this business. Some deputies blamed us regarding EYT. It is impossible for us to accept this because the regulation that created the problem called EYT was implemented before the AK Party was even founded."

Yegin said that the number of pension applications processed by the SGK is 450 thousand annually, and that the number of pensions concerning 2 million citizens appeared as an extra burden with EYT.

Emphasizing that the 450 thousand transactions the SGK performs in a year almost appear monthly with EYT, Yegin said, "There are problems in some large provinces, but we have no problems regarding EYT in 77-78 provinces. Our citizens in Ankara, Istanbul, and İzmir should not worry; their problems will be solved, and they will not suffer any loss of rights."

In the voting held after the discussions, the group proposals of the Saadet Party, IYI Party, HEDEP, and CHP were not accepted.