The new party program has become the answer to the questions we have been asking for years

Here is that article by Müftüoğlu:

The New Party's program has been announced.

Thus, many issues that have been debated for a long time have now become more visible, more open, and clearer.

I know that my choice to remain in the Republican People's Party (CHP), in the "father's hearth," was met with astonishment, resentment, and even reproach by many of my friends.

I am aware of this.

However, I am no stranger to this loneliness.

I heard the same words for years while criticizing the political choices of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, which I believed were distancing the Republican People's Party from its founding principles.

"Now is not the time."

"Do not split the votes."

"Do not play into the hands of the AKP."

Today, it has been seen by much wider segments of society just how justified a significant portion of the criticisms we voiced in those years were.

Now, I say it once again with the same determination:

My decision to stay in the Republican People's Party is not about individuals.

This decision is the natural result of my commitment to the founding principles of the Republican People's Party, the Six Arrows, the understanding of full independence, national sovereignty, and the unitary state structure.

I believe that those who criticize our choice today will also better understand why we chose to remain in the "father's hearth" in the near future.

Moreover, the program announced by the New Party has accelerated this process much faster than I expected.

Because the political orientation that we have been debating for years within the Republican People's Party as the "New CHP" understanding has now become an open and integrated political text in the New Party program.

In the early days when the discussions on absolute nullity began, I had shared an evaluation article with the public.

In that article, I had posed five critical questions based on the fundamental principles that would determine the future of the Republican People's Party.

I had asked these questions to Mr. Özgür Özel and Mr. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who competed for the CHP Chairmanship, first at the 38th Grand Congress.

During the process when the discussions on absolute nullity were taking place, the questions were updated and directed to them openly in front of the public.

Because for me, the issue was not individuals, but the principles in line with which the Republican People's Party would continue its path.

Unfortunately, neither chairman answered these questions at any stage.

Today, we are facing a new situation.

The New Party's program has been published.

For this reason, I am presenting the five questions I asked back then to the attention of the public once again and continuing my evaluation through these questions.

Because I see that a significant portion of the questions I did not receive answers to back then have effectively been answered today by the party program announced by Mr. Özgür Özel in his capacity as the New Party Chairman.

The five questions I asked were as follows:

1. What is your view on the articles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government to which Turkey has placed reservations?

2. What is your clear and definitive stance on the issue of education in the mother tongue?

3. What is your approach regarding the amendment of the definition of citizenship in the Constitution and its reorganization under the name of "equal citizenship"?

4. What is your stance on the possibility of a Kurdish federation brought to the agenda during the "Terror-Free Turkey" process?

5. What is your view on the readmission to citizenship of individuals convicted of terror crimes within the scope of new legal regulations?

When I read the New Party program yesterday, and evaluated the principled questions I reminded you of above together, the first thought that crossed my mind was this:

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu must surely be jealous of this program.

Because you have now openly written into your program and bylaws the political transformation that he had been trying to implement within the Republican People's Party for years in a veiled, fragmented, and often indirect manner.

The understanding that was debated for years within the CHP, spread over time, and explained with different concepts, has today become an open political choice in your new party without the need for any cover.

For this reason, I have a sincere suggestion:

Take Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu with you as well.

Because it is evident that there is a significant intellectual continuity between the political program you have put forward and the political line he had been trying to build in the Republican People's Party for years.

Moreover, you did not go alone.

You have largely taken with you the main actors of the debates that have been ongoing for years regarding the founding principles of the Republican People's Party.

Mr. Önder Sav, the biggest actor in Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu being brought to the head of the CHP through a global conspiracy...

Mr. İbrahim Kaboğlu, who is at the center of intense criticism from the party base due to his approach to constitutional debates...

Mr. Sezgin Tanrıkulu, who has been debated for many years due to his rhetoric regarding the party's counter-terrorism and national security policies...

Mr. Bülent Tezcan, who was criticized for the political stance the CHP followed in the face of unstamped ballots after the 2017 referendum...

Mr. Veli Ağbaba, who has been at the center of debates for many years due to his influence over the party organization and the politics he pursued...

Mr. Mustafa Sarıgül, who comes from different political traditions and is constantly debated due to a style of politics that is not reconciled with the corporate identity of the CHP...

And Mr. Mahmut Tanal, who represents the same political understanding in the party administration today, who made a place for himself in politics in the past by being Mr. Gürsel Tekin's lawyer, and who is tossed from one place to another...

And the opportunists of every era whose names I cannot finish counting...

I am not opening the Ekrem İmamoğlu topic specifically.

Because my issue is not individuals.

All I will say is this: I wish he had been tried without being detained. For two years, he has been unnecessarily occupying the conscience, faith, and fighting spirit of the Turkish nation through this victimization.

My issue is the political understanding that I believe has led the Republican People's Party to drift away from its founding philosophy.

Since you have now chosen to openly defend this understanding under the roof of a new party; then this separation is also the natural result of the ideological divergence that has been experienced for years.

As for us, we will continue on our own path.

Just as we did yesterday, we will continue to uphold the founding principles of the Republican People's Party, the Six Arrows, the understanding of full independence, national sovereignty, and the unitary state structure today.

Perhaps we are fewer today.

Perhaps the greatest power that they have seen as a threat for the implementation of global plans in this geography for years was the Republican People's Party and the solid, hardened voters of this party.

They divided it from within and from without with various games.

Perhaps today, social engineering is directing people with perceptions, leaving facts aside, as ruthlessly as never before.

The public is moving with mass movements as if hypnotized.

The place is full of dust and smoke...

Our job is much harder than it was in the past...

However, we know that the true children of the organization, committed to the founding values of the Republican People's Party, continue to maintain their existence and principles with the same faith all over Turkey.

The days when we will meet again around principles are not far off.

And this time, the struggle is perhaps a little easier.

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and his team are also aware of the social anger.

Furthermore, despite the Y-CHP members remaining in Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu's team, this time the CHP of the Y-CHP has been left alone, only the CHP remains; its "New" part has partially left the party.

Buket Müftüoğlu

CHP Honorary Board Member