Ekrem İmamoğlu's statement on Assad and Syrians: A call for return

Tensions continue to escalate in the Middle East. The Bashar al-Assad regime, which had been in power in Syria for over 20 years, has come to an end. With this development, the 40-year-old Ba'ath regime in Syria has also concluded.

Evaluating the latest developments in Syria, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu said, "We must be very cautious and prudent, and we must not forget how the emerging environment should develop in the future."

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu answered questions from İsmail Küçükkaya on Halk TV.

Highlights from İmamoğlu's statements are as follows:

"We must do everything in our power to ensure the return of Syrians! We need to display a firm stance for us to be a key country. I clearly see the mistakes of the past. Municipalities should also be granted authority regarding the return of Syrians to their own countries. The new environment in Syria is a vital issue.

'WE MUST ACT VERY CAUTIOUSLY'

There is an atmosphere of enthusiasm right now, but we are in a period where we must act very cautiously. The Republic of Turkey is a strong state and must remain so, but by virtue of its position, it should also help its neighbors have good governance. We saw the results of internal conflicts and authoritarian mindsets in what happened in Libya. Slogans are being shouted as if a victory is being celebrated. License plates 82 and 83 are being written. But there are certain conditions to being in the region. The events in Syria are no different from the processes experienced by Gaddafi in Libya and Saddam in Iraq. What does it matter if you get 90 percent of the vote? Assad was also getting 90 percent of the vote; today he is gone. On one side, there is the PKK-PYD, which is expanding its borders excessively, and on the other, there are others... Our country also recognizes these as terrorist organizations. When we look at it today, HTS is also running wild.

We must be very cautious and prudent, and we must not forget how the emerging environment should develop in the future. It is essential that Syria be governed as a state of law. We should not handle the issue unilaterally. Our foreign policy process regarding Syria, which has been ongoing since 2011, is the worst-managed process in history.

IT WAS ASSAD, THEN ESED

It was Assad, then it became Esed, then it was Assad again, and then Esed again. There was talk of going to the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus; this does not exist in our culture. We are a nation that always has an understanding that respects and protects other peoples.

No, it does not exist in our culture. It is not in our perspective. The Republic of Turkey, in terms of its founding values in 1923, is a structure that develops good relations with all its neighbors, is in friendship and peace; but at the same time, it adopts the view that those states should be strengthened with mechanisms that protect the rights and freedoms of the peoples living within them, just as much as their own rights and freedoms. I immediately go back to the past with a flash drive.

Let's go back to the early history of the Republic. Let's look and ask, "What did Mustafa Kemal Atatürk say?" Mustafa Kemal Atatürk concretized this understanding with one of the steps he took in those early days.

Think about the establishment of the Saadabad Pact. The new face of contemporary, modern Turkey was explained in order to operate a good process with Iran, Iraq, Syria, and other countries. In fact, the structure of the Republic of Turkey, which is defined as "an example to oppressed nations," was shown as an example to these countries. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk has a very interesting reminder on this subject:

"One day, after the World War, the peoples of the artificial states established in the Middle East will rise up. When that day comes, if the administrators of our newly established republic take the side of imperialist powers rather than these peoples, they will suffer the same fate."

Do you know who he is saying this to? He is saying it to Isaac Marcosson, a writer for the Saturday Evening Post, in July 1923.

Look, Turkey is the key country. It has to be. It has to be. It is the key country, but we have not been able to achieve this until today.

According to us, there are over 2 million Syrians in Istanbul. Official numbers show between 1 million 300 thousand and 1 million 400 thousand; however, according to us, this figure is around 2 million."