Two international agreements regarding Palestine approved in Parliament

Two international agreements regarding Palestine were approved in the TBMM General Assembly.

Speaking during the deliberations on the bill, Saadet Party Hatay Deputy Necmettin Çalışkan stated that all of Turkey stands with the Palestinian people, and expressed that they appreciate and applaud the student movements supporting Palestine, particularly those at universities in the United States.

Claiming that they hope to see similar activities in Turkey but that people gathering for protests are being detained, Çalışkan said the following:

"In this country, peace academics were dismissed. Because of this, academics today are afraid to take to the streets to support Palestine. A faculty member from a theology faculty or an engineering faculty does not sign a declaration, cannot sign it, they are afraid. The oppressive environment we have reached today has come to such a point that it prevents and blocks people from taking a stand even on the most righteous issues. Everyone is in great fear. Not only university students, but even the deputies sitting in your rows are afraid."

MHP Ankara Deputy Yaşar Yıldırım stated that the world remains silent on the genocide taking place in Gaza, saying, "The probability that what is being done to Palestine will be done to Turkey tomorrow is very high. Therefore, Turkey's borders should start from Jerusalem, not from Cilvegözü. If you start the border from Cilvegözü, you cannot protect Ankara. To protect Turkey, we must start from Jerusalem and say 'stop' to what is being done in Jerusalem and Gaza today. Unfortunately, we have not been able to take a serious stand until now; this is our shame."

İYİ Party Bursa Deputy Yüksel Selçuk Türkoğlu came to the podium with a photograph of Sinan Ateş.

Placing the photograph on the podium while delivering his speech, Türkoğlu said that nearly 1.5 years have passed since the murder of Sinan Ateş on December 30, 2022.

Claiming that the prosecutor's office "presented a document of shame as an indictment," Türkoğlu asked, "There is a treacherous assassination at hand; the planners are known, the instigators are known, the trigger puller is known, the testimonies are known, the evidence is known, but in the 146-page indictment, not a single motive for the murder is known, is that so?"

"POLITICS AIMED AT PUBLIC SERVICE"

AKP Eskişehir Deputy Ayşe Gürcan stated that stopping the genocide carried out by Israel in Gaza and ensuring a lasting peace stands before them as a test of humanity.

Gürcan expressed that she salutes with gratitude every person of conscience who has taken a firm stance and acted for Gaza.

Stating that Turkey is among the countries that best represent the concept of a social state in the world with its policies and the institutions that execute these policies, Gürcan said, "The first step of this point reached was taken with a fundamental mental revolution. Since the day the AKP came to power, it has removed public facilities and resources from the monopoly of a group that sees itself as elite and offered them to the service of the public. In line with the principle of 'Let the people live so that the state may live,' it has been in an effort to produce politics aimed at public service."

Gürcan emphasized that the concept of a social state was strengthened during their government's term, that they see social policies as among the essential services of the state, and that they are working to provide citizens with the service they deserve at this point.

DEM Party Diyarbakır Deputy Cengiz Çandar claimed that a significant portion of the crises Turkey has fallen into, especially in the economy, "stems from weaknesses in the rule of law."

Çandar stated that as long as the decisions of the Constitutional Court and the ECHR are not complied with, one cannot speak of a state of law; he added that "a regime where the executive branch constantly violates the Constitution cannot bear the name of a state of law."

DEBATE ON TONE

CHP Malatya Deputy Veli Ağbaba stated that Malatya suffered great damage in the February 6 earthquakes, claiming that 15 months have passed since the earthquake but the wounds have still not been healed.

Ağbaba expressed that only 7,000 of the 103,000 houses planned to be built in Malatya have been delivered, and stated that citizens cannot move into these delivered houses due to reasons such as a lack of infrastructure.

To Ağbaba, who said, "If you are watching those lottery draws on television, know that it is all a lie; no one is able to live in their house," AKP Group Deputy Chairman Leyla Şahin Usta replied, "They are all true." Following the speech, arguments and verbal sparring occurred between Ağbaba and some AKP deputies. As the argument continued, Karaca adjourned the session.

After the break, TBMM Deputy Speaker Gülizar Biçer Karaca addressed the arguments between the deputies, saying, "As the Presidential Council, we specifically request that our deputies present in the General Assembly use cleaner language and speak in a style that does not damage the honor and dignity of both the deputyship and the supreme Parliament, and that all our deputies here act with this sensitivity."

The group deputy chairmen of the parties also expressed their wishes for the use of clean language in speeches.

Following the acceptance of the bills, TBMM Deputy Speaker Gülizar Biçer Karaca closed the session to reconvene on Tuesday, May 14, at 15:00.