İYİ Party leader Dervişoğlu calls for a 'census': 'Let's do it again after 24 years'

İYİ Party Chairman Müsavat Dervişoğlu spoke at his party's parliamentary group meeting.

Stating that mitigating factors in the penal system, good conduct remissions, and insufficient supervision are practically inviting crime, and that criminals are becoming more emboldened each time, Dervişoğlu said, "The conscience of this nation cannot remain silent, and it will not. Stop making sentences that still end with 'we will do this, we will do that.' If you had done nothing about justice in the last 22 years, if you had left everything as it was, there wouldn't be this many murders anyway. You left criminals unpunished with the execution regulations you made. According to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap 2024 report, we have fallen to 127th place among 146 countries, falling even behind Saudi Arabia. Isn't the architect of this result, which befits neither our conscience nor the nobility of our nation, your ongoing wrong policies?"

NEW CONSTITUTION DISCUSSIONS

Criticizing the Presidential Government System, Dervişoğlu claimed that the system currently in place has further deepened the bureaucratic oligarchy that has been complained about for years.

ERDOĞAN'S RE-ELECTION BID

Dervişoğlu said the following:

"The ties between public institutions and parliament have been severed, and a communication gap has formed between members of parliament and the executive. How will deputies who cannot even establish direct contact with ministers be the voice of the nation? In these circumstances, if a change in the system is to be made, its direction is clear; that direction is parliamentary democracy. We defend a democratic system where the will of the people is fully reflected, and we will never compromise on this. However, if a constitutional amendment is to be used as a tool to legitimize someone's desire for power, or if artificial agendas are to be created through this discussion, no one should expect me and the İYİ Party to consent to this.

Because our struggle is for a system that fully represents the will and freedom of this nation. And we will never take a step back from being the voice of the people. This country is certainly strong enough to overcome all its problems by discussing them and realizing the potential it possesses. However, in a discussion seeking answers to questions like 'How can Erdoğan run again, how can we make him president for another five years, how can we win another election?', even if the name of the discussion is a constitutional discussion, we are not there, the İYİ Party is not there, the brave ones are not there. We have more serious issues to talk about, each caused by this government, concerning our existence and our peace."

BRAIN DRAIN DEBATE

Pointing out that one in every two young people in Turkey wants to live abroad, Dervişoğlu continued his words as follows:

"Brain drain has accelerated; qualified labor is leaving our country. Yet, isn't a country's true wealth its trained human resources? We are losing this wealth. The world economy is going through a transformation process. They say green, they say digital. Ours think they will adapt to the transformation with poorly designed incentives and support. However, they are unaware of the millions of children and millions of young people who do not have internet access, or even if they do, do not have a computer or tablet to connect to the internet. While there are so many troubles, talking about a constitution amendment with civilian packaging, planned to shape Tayyip Erdoğan's political future and offer him new opportunities, is a disgrace and truly a humiliation for us. All these are plans brought to the discussion ground to overshadow Turkey's burning problems. We will not take part in the stage of any bad game played over Turkey, and we will not be used as a tool for that game."

"A COMPREHENSIVE CLOSED CENSUS MUST BE CONDUCTED"

Touching upon the discussions regarding refugees in Turkey, Dervişoğlu reminded that they have filed a lawsuit with the Council of State for the cancellation of citizenships granted to Syrians in exchange for property acquisition, and that they have initiated a similar legal process for the cancellation of Turkish citizenship granted to foreigners in exchange for money.

Dervişoğlu made the following proposal to determine the number of refugees and foreigners in Turkey:

"A comprehensive closed census must be conducted across the country. We believe this is the only way to identify as many perverts, fugitives, criminals, and escapees as possible in the shortest time. Minister of Interior Mr. Ali Yerlikaya had announced that exactly 729 thousand Syrian refugees could not be found at their addresses. This means that the state currently does not even know the address of one out of every four Syrians you see on the street. If the refugees commit a crime, there is not even a house for the security forces to go to or an address to check. In addition to all these fugitives and refugees of unknown origin, streets, avenues, and squares have turned into an open-air prison with drug dealers, crime machines, perverts, asylum escapees, and fugitives.

For the detection and deportation of all these fugitives, and for the identification and imprisonment of every pervert, criminal, and fugitive who infects society with dozens of crime records on the streets, make the necessary bureaucratic preparations and let's conduct a closed census as soon as possible, if possible on November 3, 2024, that is, 24 years after the last closed census. In a country where so many fugitives and criminals walk around freely, a closed census, meaning one with a curfew, is no longer an option but a necessity. We are willing to stay at home for one day to be safe every day."

CLOSED SESSION IN THE TBMM

Referring to yesterday's closed session in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), where Israel's attempt to invade Lebanon and developments in the region were discussed, Dervişoğlu shared the view, "No one should worry, neither murderous Israel nor the powers behind it can set their eyes on Turkish lands, occupy them, or even think about it. Those who govern Turkey have become prisoners of trying to create threats abroad and building policy on this when they get stuck inside."

Stating, "Whenever there is a problem inside, whenever we share the real troubles of the great nation with the public, they immediately bring a political calculation before us, and that is usually security and external threats," Dervişoğlu continued:

"We see and are closely following with what calculations you raised HÜDA PAR's hand and for what purposes you reached out to DEM. We will have a lot to say about these issues. If it comes to Turkey's agenda, just as in the case of refugees, just as in the closed census, we will have proposals for this government regarding the constitution as well. We will have proposals they cannot reject. Let friend and foe know well that Turkey is the name of a great country, and Turk is the name of a great nation. We will not let Turkey be sacrificed to you and your dirty plans."