President Erdoğan: We will hold those who took Narin's life accountable

The Presidential Cabinet met at Beştepe under the chairmanship of AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The closed-door meeting at the Presidential Complex lasted 3 hours and 45 minutes.

Here are the highlights from President Erdoğan's remarks:

"Since our last cabinet meeting in Ahlat, we have been working with passion for our country and our nation, guided by the principle that those who run with passion do not tire. We commemorated our glorious victories that marked the month of August with great enthusiasm, as we do every year.

"WE CELEBRATED THE 102ND ANNIVERSARY WITH THE SAME EXCITEMENT"

Just as we proudly commemorated the 953rd anniversary of our Malazgirt Victory, which opened the gates of Anatolia to our nation on August 26, we celebrated the 102nd anniversary of the great victory that registered our presence on these lands on August 30 Victory Day with the same excitement.

"WE SEE THEM AS THE ARCHITECTS OF THE CENTURY OF TURKIYE"

We attended the graduation ceremonies of our military academies and shared in the joy of graduation with the young lieutenants and their precious families. This year, 1,613 students graduated from our military academies, 103 of whom were international students. It was particularly meaningful that all of our top-ranking graduates were female lieutenants. We see our youth, who are wholeheartedly committed to their homeland, nation, national will, and the nation's values, as the architects of the Century of Türkiye.

"WE ARE AT A VERY DIFFERENT LEVEL COMPARED TO 22 YEARS AGO"

We are always proud of our well-trained, disciplined, and patriotic youth. We support every step that strengthens the Turkish Armed Forces, the apple of our nation's eye and the hearth of the Prophet. Over the last 22 years, we have achieved significant breakthroughs in every field under the motto of 'Strong Türkiye, Strong Army.' For example, we have transformed a country that was 80% dependent on foreign sources in the defense industry into one that produces all kinds of weapons and ammunition with its own resources. We are among the top 3-4 countries in the world in UAV and SİHA technologies. We are at a very different level compared to 22 years ago in many areas, including aircraft, helicopters, tanks, missiles, rockets, bombs, weapons, ships, and submarines.

"WE WILL NOT ALLOW POLITICAL SCORES TO BE SETTLED THROUGH OUR ARMY"

However, we also oppose any attempt that would cast a shadow over the discipline, cohesion, and reputation of our army. We are conducting the necessary investigations with great sensitivity and in a multi-dimensional manner within the framework of democratic oversight mechanisms. We will not allow our heroic army to be undermined, nor will we allow political scores to be settled through our army under any circumstances.

"THEY ARE PREACHING WITHOUT BLUSHING"

I would like to underline this point first: The exploitative political mentality has caused the greatest harm to Türkiye. Although the actors change over time, this style of politics unfortunately continues to exist as a bad opposition tradition. The opposition is once again clinging to the politics of exploitation to whitewash its dubious record in the May 14-28 and March 31 elections. Those who swallowed insults that I would be ashamed to repeat here for the sake of 3-5 votes are now coming out and preaching without blushing.

"WE WILL DEFINITELY NOT GIVE CREDIT TO PROVOCATIVE LANGUAGE"

Those who dream of coming to power by forming alliances with those beyond our borders and across the oceans are now trying to lecture the nation through Gazi Mustafa Kemal. The words of those who protect and support those who slander the Turkish Armed Forces by claiming they used chemical weapons have no value today. Our nation is well aware of their insincerity. We will not fall for this game. We will definitely not give credit to this provocative language that does no good for our country and our democracy.

"I WISH MY CONDOLENCES TO OUR NATION"

On this occasion, I pray for God's mercy upon our gendarmes who were martyred yesterday as a result of an armored vehicle overturning in the Ovacık district of Tunceli, and our lieutenant who was martyred today in the Gara region of Iraq. I extend my condolences to the grieving families of our martyrs, their comrades-in-arms, and our nation. I also wish a speedy recovery to our gendarme who was injured in the accident.

"WE WILL REACH OUR 2024 TARGETS IN TOURISM"

I believe that the Rixos Tersane Istanbul Hotel, which we put into service on September 1, will make a significant contribution to Istanbul's tourism and promotion. Last year, 17,370,000 tourists visited our Istanbul. As a country, we hosted 56 million 700 thousand people from every corner of the world. Our target this year is 60 million tourists and 60 billion dollars in tourism revenue. We hosted 35 million tourists in our country in the first 7 months of the year. Despite the hot conflicts in our region, our tourism season is going well. We believe we will reach our 2024 targets in tourism.

"A NEW AND CIVIL CONSTITUTION IS A DUTY TO THE NATION"

On the first working day of September, we held our judicial year opening ceremony. With the new legislative year, we will hopefully focus more on the issue of a new and civil constitution. A civil constitution is more than a need; it is a necessity for Turkish democracy to complete its reckoning with coups and the coup-plotting mentality. I must state this very clearly: We do not find it right or fair that a nation that signed the July 15 Epic of National Will is forced to live under a constitution made by coup plotters. It is a duty to the nation for the 28th term, which has the broadest representation base of recent years, to draft a new and civil constitution. We will do our best to ensure that the Parliament fulfills this duty.

"WE ARE SUPPORTING THE EGYPTIAN AUTHORITIES"

On September 4, we hosted Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and his delegation at our complex as part of an official visit. Following our historic visit in February, we have taken Türkiye-Egypt relations much further with Mr. Sisi's return visit. This important visit was crowned with 17 memoranda of understanding signed in various fields. We are in close dialogue with Egypt on regional issues, especially Gaza, the Eastern Mediterranean, and North Africa. We are supporting the Egyptian authorities in their mediation efforts to establish a ceasefire in Gaza and ensure the unhindered entry of aid. At a time when Israel is accelerating its expansionist policies, we, as all countries in the region, need to strengthen our line of solidarity. We have accelerated our efforts for the Islamic world to take a more decisive stance against the genocide in Gaza, which is entering its 12th month.

"JERUSALEM IS OUR RED LINE"

We can now see this reality very clearly: The Israeli government is seeking to expand its policy of occupation and invasion to include the Al-Aqsa Mosque, our first qibla. The harassment and raids by Zionists against the Haram al-Sharif are increasing. We are following all of these closely. I have said it before, and I want to emphasize it again today: In the words of the late Nuri Pakdil, half of our heart is Mecca, and the rest is Medina. And on top of it, like a veil, is Jerusalem. That is why we say at every opportunity that Jerusalem is our red line. It is unthinkable for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, whose duty is to uphold the cause of Jerusalem, to remain indifferent to these increasingly reckless attacks. It is urgent for the organization to meet at the leaders' level without wasting any more time and to demonstrate the decisive stance of the Islamic world. We will continue to intensify our contacts regarding this.

"I WISH THE NEW ACADEMIC YEAR TO BE BENEFICIAL"

On Friday, September 6, we came together with our education community at the 5th International Summit on Technology, Research and Development, and Quality in Education. We are among the countries that use technological opportunities in education most widely. We are mobilizing all our resources to raise a TEKNOFEST generation that produces and develops technology, benefits from it at the highest level, but is not a slave to it. I wish the 2024-2025 academic year, which began with the first school bell ringing today, to be beneficial for our students, teachers, parents, and our country. I offer my heartfelt gratitude to all our teachers for their services, efforts, and immense patience, and I wish them success in their duties. I kiss each of our children who are experiencing the excitement of starting school for the first time, and I pray that God grants them all clarity of mind.

"WE WILL HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE"

Of course, we welcomed this day, when schools are filled with the joy of our children, with a heavy heart due to the bitter news from Diyarbakır Bağlar yesterday. The brutal murder of our little Narin has cast a burning fire into all of our hearts. We will certainly hold them accountable before justice. I am personally following and will continue to follow the matter so that the murderers who killed an innocent child receive the heaviest punishment. I also want this to be known here: We will continue our struggle decisively against all murderers, whether they are separatist terrorists, drug dealers and gangs, or the conscience-less people around them, who extinguish the sparkle in the eyes of not only our child Narin but all our children. The fact that today's first lesson is about the spirit of independence and love for the homeland from Çanakkale to Gaza undoubtedly contains very important messages. As a nation that wrote an epic of resistance against the imperialist powers of the era in the national struggle, we stand with our Palestinian brothers and sisters.

MESSAGE FOR AYŞENUR EZGİ

Today, we are the ones who best understand what the struggle in Gaza and Ramallah means. On this occasion, I commemorate our daughter Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, who was treacherously killed by Israeli security forces during a protest demonstration the other day, with mercy, and I extend my condolences to her family and friends. We will take every legal step to ensure that the blood of our daughter Ayşenur Ezgi does not remain on the ground, and we will undoubtedly continue our struggle with the State of Israel at the highest level, including by applying to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The genocidal Israeli administration, which has massacred 41 thousand people without distinguishing between women, children, the elderly, and civilians, will certainly be held accountable for the crimes it has committed."