President Erdoğan: 1-day national mourning declared

AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made statements following the Cabinet Meeting. Erdoğan announced that a 1-day national mourning period has been declared regarding the fire tragedy in Bolu in which 76 people lost their lives.

Highlights from President Erdoğan's statements are as follows:

I pray for God's mercy upon our 76 citizens who lost their lives in the fire in Bolu. An administrative and judicial investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the fire and those responsible. 4 people, including the business owner, have been detained. Those who caused such a tragedy to occur, and those who have negligence or fault, will be held accountable before the law.

1-DAY NATIONAL MOURNING DECLARED

Of course, words are insufficient to describe the fire in our hearts. We know that especially the citizens who lost their loved ones are in deep sorrow and pain. A 1-day national mourning period has been declared due to those who lost their lives in the fire. Our flags will be flown at half-mast until sunset on January 22, 2025.

TODAY IS A DAY FOR SOLIDARITY, FOR BEING ONE AND TOGETHER

Today is not a day for politics, but a day for solidarity, for being one and together. I want to express that we expect all actors, including politicians, the media, and local administrators, to show respect for the pain of our citizens. Once again, I convey my condolences to our citizens who lost their lives, patience to their families, and my sympathies and get-well wishes to our nation. I pray that the Almighty protects our country and our nation from such dire events.

WE DISCUSSED CRITICAL ISSUES

We have completed another cabinet meeting where we evaluated critical issues ranging from education to defense, and from security to regional developments. As has always been the case, we have been working with great effort in the service of our country and nation since our last cabinet meeting. We came together with the governors of our 81 provinces at our Presidential Complex during our annual governors' meeting. We expect great service and devoted work from our governors and district governors, who are the face of our concept of a benevolent state turned toward the citizen, during this critical period we are in. As you know, within the framework of the decision we took at our last cabinet meeting, we had shared with our nation that we would observe 2025 as the Year of the Family.

WE ARE IMPLEMENTING MEASURES TO STRENGTHEN THE FAMILY

On January 13, we held the 2025 Year of the Family Promotion Program with broad participation at our Beştepe Congress and Culture Center. Within the framework drawn by Article 41 of our constitution, which states that the family is the foundation of society, we are implementing measures to strengthen the family. We see that the institution of the family has been under a multi-dimensional siege that has been intensifying in recent years. Especially gender-neutrality policies have turned into a global crusade targeting the institution of the family. Turkey is at the forefront of countries trying to form a human front centered on human nature against these gender-related movements.

WE DECLARED 2025 AS THE YEAR OF THE FAMILY

Another issue that has turned into an existential threat for our nation is our fertility rate, which has fallen to 1.51. Considering that the replacement level of the population is 2.1, the gravity of the threat will be understood more clearly. Another problem is the rise in the age of marriage. In our country, the age of first marriage has risen to 26 for women and 28 for men. The age of becoming a mother for the first time has exceeded 29 in an unprecedented way. Regardless of government or opposition, we need to first stop this dangerous trend and then reverse it. It is based on all these facts that we declared 2025 as the Year of the Family.

WE WILL ENCOURAGE HAVING CHILDREN

In our promotion program, we presented to the appreciation of our public the new practices we have put into effect to both protect the institution of the family and increase birth rates. We decided to expand the Family and Youth Fund, where we offer interest-free loan support of 150 thousand liras with a 48-month maturity and 2 years of grace period to our young people taking their first step into marriage, to all our 81 provinces. In addition, we increased the one-time birth grant we provide for the first newborn child to 5000 liras. We have introduced child benefits of 1500 liras per month for the second child, and 5000 liras per month for the third and subsequent children. We will deposit the child benefits we will provide for the second and subsequent children into our mothers' accounts every month. Apart from this, we will encourage having children with different support, incentives, and aids to strengthen the family.

STRAY DOG PROBLEM

The incident in Yüksekova in recent days, where a 12-year-old child of ours lost their life, has deeply wounded and shaken us all. As you may recall, we had witnessed similar incidents before, and we had taken action as the government upon this. Despite the opposition of various lobbies that profit from this problem remaining unresolved, we had made the necessary regulations in our legislation. None of us have forgotten, and we will not forget, the disgrace staged in parliament during the law negotiations, the insolence toward our families who lost their children, and the audacity that makes one ask if these people have any conscience at all.

WE WILL IMPLEMENT COERCIVE MEASURES

The heartbreaking incident in Yüksekova has reaffirmed how accurate the legal regulation and our concerns were. Once and for all, it is essential for everyone to accept this: no one has the right to make Turkey live with the shame of a country where stray dogs attack children going to school, the library, or the park. Everyone's responsibility in the legislation is clear. Regardless of the political party, all of our municipalities must fulfill the duties imposed on them by the law and regulations. From now on, we will implement more coercive measures regarding those who do not do their duty by putting forward various excuses. All relevant organs of our state, especially our Ministries of Agriculture, Interior, and Environment, will pursue this issue more decisively. Here, I pray for God's mercy upon our child Eslem, and patience for her grieving family and friends.

WE DID NOT LEAVE OUR SYRIAN BROTHERS ALONE AND DESTITUTE

We have also left behind two busy weeks in terms of international receptions. On January 7, we hosted the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, Mr. Barzani, at our complex. We consulted with him on all issues on our agenda, including joint counter-terrorism efforts. The visit of the President of Mongolia and his delegation was extremely important and meaningful as it was the first visit to Turkey at the head-of-state level in 21 years. On the occasion of the visit, we signed ten agreements in various fields with a joint declaration that elevated our relations to the level of strategic partnership. We also discussed many critical issues during the visit of the Foreign and Defense Ministers and the Intelligence Chief of the new Syrian administration to our country. Throughout the nearly 14 years of oppression and massacres, we have never left our Syrian brothers alone and destitute.

IT IS IMPORTANT FOR THE ARAB AND ISLAMIC WORLD TO SUPPORT THIS COUNTRY

We will also stand by the new government and the Syrian people in the efforts to rebuild Syria. As Syria recovers and strengthens, and as the wreckage left behind by Assad while fleeing is cleared, not only our Syrian brothers but our entire region will benefit from this. For this recovery to happen, it is undoubtedly important for the Arab and Islamic world to support this country before anyone else. The sanctions imposed by Western institutions should also be lifted as soon as possible...