President Erdoğan's rebuke to CHP: 'We will not allow the streets to be stirred up'

AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made significant statements following the cabinet meeting.

Here are the highlights from Erdoğan's remarks:

We spent the Victory Week, which we observed between August 25-30, to the fullest this year as well. At the ceremonies in Ahlat and Malazgirt, we once again declared our nation's eternal and everlasting brotherhood to the entire world. We visited the Gölbaşı campus of ASELSAN, one of the leading organizations of the Turkish defense industry, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. There, we took 3 proud steps on behalf of our defense industry at the same time. We added the Steel Dome systems, consisting of a total of 47 vehicles, to the inventory of our heroic army.

"WE ARE BECOMING A PLAYER IN A DIFFERENT LEAGUE IN AIR DEFENSE"

We held the official opening of 14 critical facilities worth 280 million dollars. When this project is completed, it will hopefully be one of the most advanced defense technology centers in the region. With the Agile Dome, which is a system of systems, we are becoming a player in a different league in air defense.

The existence of a group whose eyes are so blinded by hatred that they would protect their own supporters rather than the citizens with the Steel Dome is, I say with regret, a state of mind that should be a cause for concern regarding our country's security. This is a problematic approach that divides and separates our nation and belittles the majority of the public due to their political preferences. Our goal is to protect Turkey and every single one of its 86 million members at the highest level, from pistols to rifles, from UAVs to missiles, from tanks to missiles, and from aircraft to radar.

"ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF SHORT-SIGHTEDNESS"

The fact that the main opposition party leader displayed the same approach in Sinop is another example of short-sightedness. Apparently, the fish and tourists are disturbed by the missile period. I want to show what kind of vortex of ignorance this person is struggling in. We are 1st in Europe and 17th in the world in aquaculture. Our seafood exports have increased 10-fold in volume and 20-fold in value during the 2002-2024 period. Our exports, which were 27 thousand tons in 2002, rose to 313 thousand tons in 2024, and to 2 billion dollars in monetary value. A similar success story is in question in Sinop. In this city, production for hunting and farming purposes reached 35 thousand tons and 117 million dollars in 4 years.

"NUCLEAR ENERGY MUST BE INCLUDED IN OUR PRODUCTION PORTFOLIO"

Exports are made from Sinop to 25 different countries around the world, primarily Russia, Peru, Japan, and Germany. One-third of the Turkish salmon produced in our country is raised in Sinop. There is no problematic picture as this person claims. We have explained many times why marginal groups with environmentalist masks oppose nuclear energy. As of 2025, 416 nuclear reactors are active in 31 countries. 62 reactors are being built in 15 countries, including Turkey. If we want to reduce foreign dependency in energy and reach the 2053 targets, we must include nuclear energy in our production portfolio. With the commissioning of Akkuyu, we will, so to speak, break the jinx.

"WE ONCE AGAIN PROUDLY WITNESSED OUR COUNTRY'S POWER AT SEA"

It will prevent 35 million tons of carbon emissions annually. It will contribute a total of 50 billion dollars to our gross domestic product. Opposing a nuclear power plant can only be explained by ill intent, if not by ignorance. Such a shallow mentality will be of no use to the country, the nation, or our fellow citizens in Sinop.

We sent off 4,130 of our brothers, 881 of whom are officers and 4,130 of whom are non-commissioned officers, to their new duty stations. I congratulate each of our 5,011 officers and non-commissioned officers who received their graduation diplomas once again. At TEKNOFEST Blue Homeland, we once again proudly witnessed our country's power at sea. Our citizens had the opportunity to see the state-of-the-art deterrent elements of the Turkish Navy, especially the TCG Anadolu.

"OUR GOAL IS TO COMPLETE 453 THOUSAND INDEPENDENT UNITS BY THE NEW YEAR AND DELIVER THEM TO THEIR RIGHTFUL OWNERS"

On Saturday, September 6, we were guests in our Malatya to hand over the keys to the 300,000th earthquake house and to hold the official opening of 41 of our projects. We had completed and allocated our 201,000th house in January and our 250,000th house in June to our earthquake-stricken citizens who were entitled to them. We experienced the joy of delivering a total of 304,836 independent units in 13 of our provinces to our rightful citizens. At the same ceremony, we also drew lots for thousands of houses and workplaces whose construction was completed in 9 of our provinces. The total amount of resources we have used for our earthquake region exceeds 75 billion dollars. Our goal is to complete 453 thousand independent units by the new year and deliver them to their rightful owners. We are working with all our might for this.

"FOR 23 YEARS, WE HAVE NOT MADE PROMISES WE COULD NOT STAND BEHIND"

I would advise those incompetent people who criticized us mercilessly during the election period, promised free houses to disaster victims and then disappeared, and set out with the claim that they would even surpass TOKİ in İzmir and defrauded thousands of people, to visit the earthquake houses in Malatya and İzmir. We are a staff loyal to their promises and pledges to the nation. For 23 years, we have not made promises we could not stand behind. And when we gave our word, we tried every way to fulfill it. Those who showered the public with promises in the last 2 elections never cared about it again after the elections were over.

They were going to make water cheaper, but they raised prices again and again. They were going to make transportation easier, but they made traffic impossible. They were going to support our retirees, but they wiped their promises away. They did not put forward any work, project, or action. They did nothing but plunder, bribery, robbery, and extorting the nation. Now they are answering for this to the judiciary. Even if they shout, scream, or whine helplessly to foreign media channels, they will not be able to prevent the manifestation of justice. No one in Turkey is outside the scope of the law. Criticizing court rulings is one thing, not recognizing them is another.

"WE WILL NEVER ALLOW THE PEACE OF THE NATION TO BE DISRUPTED"

If you go, you apply to the courts indicated in the law for the review of the decision. Saying 'I do not recognize court rulings' is clearly challenging the rule of law. It is unthinkable to turn a blind eye to such irresponsibility. We will never allow the streets to be stirred up, nor will we allow the peace of the nation, especially that of our fellow citizens in Istanbul, to be disrupted. We will not say 'okay' to the seat struggle heating up in the main opposition harming the country's gains. We will fulfill our responsibilities to the letter for the smooth operation of judicial and administrative processes.

"WE ARE DETERMINED TO REDUCE INFLATION TO SINGLE DIGITS"

The Medium-Term Program is not just about numbers and tables. It is a vision that aims to permanently increase the welfare of our people. Thanks to the program, we will not only grow over the next 3 years, but we will also surpass the average growth performance of our global economy and trade partners. Now we have grown our target a little more. Hopefully, we will be a 1.9 trillion dollar economy by the end of 2028.

Our per capita income will reach 21 thousand dollars for the first time. We want to permanently move Turkey into the league of high-income countries. We are determined to reduce inflation to single digits. We will provide 2.5 million new jobs during the program period. We hope to reduce our unemployment rate to below 8 percent. The permanent improvement in our current account deficit will continue, and our goods exports will exceed 300 billion dollars. We also desire to increase our tourism revenues, which are the most important item of our service exports, to 75 billion dollars.

"WE WILL ADDRESS THE ISSUE IN A WAY THAT INCLUDES REVIEWING THE LEGISLATION"

We are following the discussions in our public opinion regarding children under 18 involved in crime very closely. The fact that the perpetrators of murders and crimes, including today's heinous attack, are from this age group causes rightful outrage among our people. Criminal networks, street gangs, and terrorist organizations specifically target children in this age group. No one can deny the role of digital platforms, popular culture, and TV series and movies that encourage illegitimate life in the growth of this problem.

I believe that this issue needs to be handled in a multi-faceted way, including its sociological, psychological, pedagogical, and familial dimensions. We have to solve this problem, which also concerns our future, by working hand in hand. As the government, we will address the issue in a way that includes reviewing the legislation before the trouble becomes more chronic. We will do this under the guidance of our history, our culture, and universal legal norms.

INCREASE IN LOAN AMOUNT

We are increasing the amount of support we provide to our young people who will establish a home through the Family and Youth Fund. As of January 2026, we are increasing the loan amount to 250 thousand liras if both couples are under 18-25, and to 200 thousand liras in other cases. We are postponing the repayments for 12 months for each child upon the request of our young couples who have children within 48 months.

We are taking new steps to meet the housing needs of our university students. We are one of the leading countries in the world in this field in terms of dormitory quality, accessibility, and cost. The KYK bed capacity, which was 182 thousand, broke a record this summer with the new dormitories whose construction was completed, exceeding 1 million. Hopefully, we will safely host 1 million university students in our dormitories this year. I wish this to be auspicious for our youth. I hope that the new education, training, and academic year will be auspicious for all our students, teachers, and parents.