It finally happened! They targeted Turkey and Atatürk in the Veteran Parliament: Here are the demands of the Hezbollah-affiliated groups!

A report submitted by the "Union of Scholars and Madrasas," an association close to Hezbollah, to the solution commission established in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) has sparked major controversy. During the commission's meeting yesterday, the reading of the report by Mehmet Beşir Şimşek, deputy head of the "Association of Islamic Preaching, Teaching, Science, and Action Men" (İTTİHAD)—a session presided over by Enver Kılıçarslan, the former Iran representative of Hezbollah—drew reactions from MHP, DEM Party, and CHP deputies. Following these reactions, DEM Party deputies left the commission.

THEY TARGETED ATATÜRK

The content of the report drew attention with its expressions targeting the Republic and the founder of the Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The Hezbollah-affiliated associations claimed that the national and secular republican regime was at the root of the Kurdish issue. The report included the following statements:

"The Kurdish people saw their ability to live as brothers with the Turks within the borders of the newly established republic as being based on adherence to Islam. However, the single-party regime ignored this adherence of the Kurds and effectively declared war on Islam."

The report emphasized that the Republic built a national identity based on Westernism and Turkism, while the Kurdish identity was denied. The Hezbollah-affiliated groups argued that this ideology caused the Kurdish people to suffer great oppression.

According to the report by Cumhuriyet, the Hezbollah-affiliated groups' report also included points demanding a return to the pre-Republican era. The associations presented the following demands to the commission:

It was stated that the unitary nation-state concept should be abandoned and replaced by a multicultural structure.

A new constitution was demanded. It was emphasized that the definition of citizenship in the constitution should be changed and that citizens of the Republic of Turkey cannot be defined solely as Turks. It was stated that Article 66 of the Constitution should be amended.

It was stated that Kurdish should be officially accepted as a language of instruction. By amending Article 42 of the Constitution, the way should be paved for education in the mother tongue.

It was demanded that madrasas be accepted as official educational institutions. It was argued that madrasas should be allowed to operate as educational institutions just as they did in the pre-Republican period.

ISLAMIC AND HUMAN RIGHTS MUST BE RECOGNIZED

The report also focused on the need for the Islamic and human rights of Kurds to be recognized without being subject to negotiation. The Hezbollah-affiliated associations demanded that the rights of the Kurdish people be guaranteed and that assimilation be brought to an end. In this context, it was emphasized that state officials should not view the Kurdish issue merely as a matter of laying down arms or a ceasefire.

A NEW CONSTITUTION IS WANTED IN TURKEY

The report specifically expressed the need for a new constitution and a change in the current system. By demanding the right to education in the mother tongue for Kurds and educational freedom for madrasas, it was stated that the system should take on a more Islamic structure.

It was argued that the ideology of the "White Turks" should be abandoned and that the beliefs and traditions of the local people should be more reflected in the state structure. It was claimed that these demands should make a major contribution to Turkey's democratization process.