Parliament opens: Handshakes, Bahçeli, Normalization… Here is the first day…

Parliament has officially begun its new legislative year. The TBMM General Assembly convened under the chairmanship of Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş for the start of the 3rd Legislative Year of the 28th Term, followed by the TBMM reception for the new legislative year.

SECURITY MEASURES IN PARLIAMENT

Extensive security measures were taken in Parliament for the opening of the new legislative year. The General Assembly hall was searched by teams accompanied by the bomb-sniffing dog Ateş before the opening. Flowers were left on the desks of all deputies for the opening.

The reception held in the Ceremony Hall by TBMM Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş was attended by Chief of General Staff General Metin Gürak, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç, AKP Group Chairman Abdullah Güler, MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli, İYİ Party Chairman Müsavat Dervişoğlu, DSP Chairman Önder Aksakal, Future Party Chairman Ahmet Davutoğlu, DEVA Party Chairman Ali Babacan, HÜDA PAR Chairman Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu, Democrat Party Chairman Gültekin Uysal, party group deputy chairmen, YSK Chairman Ahmet Yener, deputies, bureaucrats, foreign mission representatives, civil society organization representatives, athletes, artists, and numerous guests.

The reception also featured artists İbrahim Tatlıses and Mustafa Keser, as well as State Theatres General Manager Tamer Karadağlı and national shooters Şevval İlayda Tarhan and Yusuf Dikeç, who won a silver medal for Turkey in the 10-meter air pistol mixed team event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Following the opening speech by TBMM Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, AKP Chairman and President Erdoğan took the podium.

Highlights from Erdoğan's statements are as follows:

My dear nation, Mr. Speaker, esteemed deputies, I greet you with my most heartfelt feelings. I hope that the 3rd legislative year of the 28th term of the TBMM will bring goodness to our country together with our deputies.

I once again respectfully commemorate the first Speaker of our Grand National Assembly, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and all the veterans and martyrs of our War of Independence today.

I pray that the new legislative year will be a blessed and fruitful year for all of you and especially for our dear nation, in harmony, reconciliation, and mutual understanding.

I convey my best wishes for success in the new legislative year to the political parties and my fellow deputies who will serve our nation with this high consciousness.

The TBMM, under whose roof we are currently gathered, was opened on April 23, 1920, directed and managed the national struggle, and founded our Republic on October 29, 1923.

Throughout its 104-year history, this Parliament has managed to find a way out even in the most difficult times.

This Parliament has the power to draft the most inclusive constitution in our Republican history, which will strengthen peace and democracy and open more space for prosperity and freedoms.

The constitution imposed on the national will in the shadow of weapons after the September 12 military coup is a straitjacket tailored for our nation. More than 20 amendments clearly show the nation's dissatisfaction with the current constitution.

The expiration date of the '82 Constitution has passed. We see that our democracy's need for a new constitution is becoming more apparent day by day.

We are meticulously preparing for the new constitution, but this does not mean that we are closing our doors to all other ideas. We respect every kind of idea, we listen to every thought with interest.

It is impossible to think of the nation and the state separately. If there is a nation, there is a state. If there is a state, the nation maintains its existence.

The state is not above the nation. And the nation cannot survive or live without a state. We believe that the prosperity and peace of the nation, along with more freedom, will further strengthen our state. The new constitution must have qualities that bring the state and the nation together. As people representing the noble will of the nation, we can write, draft, and implement a constitution that brings us together on maximum common grounds without excluding any member of our people, through this supreme Parliament.

Just like nature, societies and states have an order and discipline. Order is the main pillar of the state and the nation. The law provides order, and the spirit of the law is justice.

Justice is the foundation of the state. It is justice that brings a state into existence and keeps it standing. It is justice that keeps the nation in peace, prosperity, and security. It is justice that will protect the state from all kinds of threats. It is again justice that will grow the economy, ensure equal distribution, and make the worker and the employer happy. If the guilty and the innocent are not distinguished from each other, if the innocent is punished while the guilty walks around freely, justice is shaken, and if justice is shaken, the state is shaken. Our law enforcement agencies and our judiciary community are working with effort and devotion for the realization of justice.

On this occasion, I would like to express my gratitude to all our martyrs, especially our policewoman Şeyda Yılmaz, who was martyred as a result of a heinous attack last week. May God protect all our security forces who fight at the cost of their lives. I convey our gratitude and heartfelt greetings to our entire police force on behalf of our entire nation. I also express our thanks to the brave members of our heroic army.

None of us should allow our judiciary members and the courts that make decisions on behalf of the Turkish nation to be threatened. Our Parliament should focus more on crime prevention in the new legislative year and listen more to the increasingly rising demands of our nation.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

Despite the disaster of the century, the February 6 earthquakes, and the hot conflicts in our region, we are moving towards the goals we have set in the economy. We have made significant progress in our economic program in the last 1 year with the support of our Parliament. We have left behind and are leaving behind many issues that were at the top of our agenda last year.

Our Central Bank's gross reserves, which were 98.5 billion dollars in May last year, have exceeded 156 billion dollars today, reaching the highest level in our Republican history. Thank God, Turkey no longer has a reserve problem.

We have brought the current account deficit to a sustainable level. We fell below 20 billion dollars in July.

Our exports broke a record with 256 billion dollars, and our strong performance continues in 2024. Annual exports reached the peak of our history with 262 billion dollars.

We closed 2023 in tourism with a record number of visitors and revenue; this year we aim to reach 60 million tourists and 60 billion dollars in revenue.

Our national income exceeded the 1 trillion dollar threshold and reached 1 trillion 119 billion.

Thus, we managed to cross a very critical psychological threshold in national income; Turkey was the only country whose credit rating was increased by 3 major agencies in 2024. Depending on the improvement in the basic indicators of our economy, our country's risk premium is also falling. We also removed Turkey from the gray list, where it was placed mostly for political reasons; again, during this process, we did not compromise on fiscal discipline despite the 104 billion dollar additional bill that the February 6 earthquakes brought to the Turkish economy.

Thanks to our determined stance, we have entered a permanent downward trend in inflation; annual inflation has fallen by 23.5 points in the last 3 months. Food inflation has also turned negative. The decline in inflation will continue, and our nation will feel this decline more in the markets, bazaars, and kitchens.

REGIONAL HOT DEVELOPMENTS

The terror and genocide that Israel has been carrying out in Palestine and Gaza for nearly 1 year have unfortunately extended to Lebanon. Yesterday, the occupying forces announced that they had entered Lebanese territory by land.

While Israel is committing genocide in Gaza on one hand and carrying out terrorist attacks in Lebanon on the other, it is trying every way to drag regional countries into the fire.

Israel, which has massacred 42 thousand people in Gaza, 17 thousand of whom were children, and has now started a massacre in Lebanon, unfortunately does not receive the necessary reaction from the world.

I also expressed this at the UN General Assembly. A Hitler-wannabe named Netanyahu has recklessly committed all crimes.

He has committed every crime that can be committed against humanity, including genocide, harassment, rape, ethnic cleansing, destroying freedom of expression, and bombing places of worship, hospitals, and schools, many times over.

Despite this shameful picture for all of humanity, some countries continue to provide support to Israel. Other countries are also partners in this brutality by remaining silent.

No matter what it does, Israel will be stopped sooner or later!

Just as the Hitler who saw himself in a giant mirror was stopped, Netanyahu will be stopped in the same way. The sighs of mothers and fathers wrapped in the white shrouds of their children will disgrace these oppressors. The black stain on the foreheads of states, especially those in the West, not just Israel, will not be forgotten for centuries.

Today, I say with a burning heart and bleeding soul, it has been exactly 360 days since Israel's genocide against the people of Gaza began; 42 thousand of our brothers and sisters were martyred, they made mothers collect the pieces of their beloved children left under the rubble. They trampled on every value related to humans and humanity. They turned not only mosques but also centuries-old churches into piles of rubble. Neither international organizations nor states representing 2 billion Muslims could come together and show a common reaction. Let alone stopping Israel, not even a joint stance was displayed.

Remaining silent and ignoring the brutality will not save any of us from the aggression of this genocide network. To end this lack of reaction, as Turkey, we will continue to speak the truth with courage and stand tall against the oppressors.

The Israeli administration, acting with the delusion of the promised lands, will clearly set its sights on our homeland after Palestine and Lebanon, with complete religious fanaticism. This is what some friends of Israel within Turkey, those who voluntarily or for money propagate Zionism, do not understand. The Netanyahu government is dreaming of a utopia that includes Anatolia. Every development since October 7 has increased the scale of this threat.

2.5 HOURS BETWEEN HATAY AND LEBANON

The distance from the border in the Yayladağı district of Hatay to the Lebanese border is 170 kilometers; Lebanon is only 2.5 hours away from Turkey.

In other words, occupation, terror, and aggression are right next to us. I especially address those who call Hamas a terrorist organization, I address those who try to legitimize the barbarity experienced for 360 days with the October 7 incident; we are facing a gang of murderers who feed on blood.

We are facing an occupation network that has lost its mind and intends to set the entire region on fire. We are facing a racist regime that discriminates not only against Muslims but even among Jews.

Remaining silent and neutral while bombs are raining down on civilians right next to you is being a partner in the crime. I ask those who have been playing the three monkeys for 360 days: how will you look your children in the face tomorrow? Do you really believe that you can be safe if Palestine and Lebanon are not safe?

For our homeland, for our nation, for our independence, we will continue to stand against this aggression and this state terrorism with every means at our disposal.

No matter the cost, Turkey will continue to stand against Israel. Turkey will do its best to establish a front of humanity against those who attack the common values of humanity.

As Turkey, we will never leave our Lebanese brothers and sisters alone in these difficult days; we will be by their side with all our means.

SURPRISE 'PEACE' STATEMENT FROM BAHÇELİ

After the closing of the parliamentary opening session, MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli went to the DEM Party Co-Chairs as he was leaving the hall and shook hands with the deputies, including DEM Party Co-Chairman Tuncer Bakırhan, DEM Party Group Deputy Chairman Sezai Temelli, DEM Party Van Deputy Pervin Buldan, and DEM Party Ağrı Deputy Sırrı Sakık.

Bahçeli, who has been on the agenda with his harsh expressions and occasional targeting of the DEM Party, answered journalists' questions at the reception and also made a statement regarding his handshake, saying, "We are entering a new era; while we want peace in the world, we need to ensure peace in our own country."

Regarding his handshake in the General Assembly with CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, whom he criticized harshly at the Group Meeting, Bahçeli said, "Shaking hands is a sign of evaluation."

Regarding President Erdoğan's words, "Israel will set its sights on our lands after Lebanon," Bahçeli said, "Our President is standing firmly on potential developments. He is also warning the Turkish nation in this sense."

FROM ÖZEL TO ERDOĞAN: 'WE WILL NOT SIT AT THE TABLE WITH SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT COMPLY WITH THE CONSTITUTION'

Answering journalists' questions after the session in Parliament, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel responded to President Erdoğan over the new constitution debate: "We are not thinking of sitting at the constitutional table with someone who does not comply with the constitution. What constitution, when Can Atalay and Gezi prisoners are inside, and ECHR and Constitutional Court decisions are not being implemented! Since I did not receive an answer to my call, I will not be able to respond to his call." Özel said the following:

"I also had a call to the President; since I did not receive an answer, I will not be able to respond to his call either. If they complied with the current constitution, a ground would be formed to comply with the new constitution. Friends, what constitution, when Can Atalay and Gezi prisoners are inside, when ECHR and Constitutional Court decisions are not being implemented, when the Constitutional Court is being crushed by the first-instance court and sides are being taken in favor of the first instance! If there is an area to create polemics in Mr. Erdoğan's speech today, looking into his eyes, 'how will we talk about the constitution with someone who does not comply with the constitution in our last meeting, you do not like the suit tailored for you. It was long here, it was short there, sew a new one. First, comply with the existing one.' I have many objections to the existing one too, but everyone is complying, you are not. He does not like one page of the Constitution, he tears it up and throws it away. He writes his own powers on the other page. He is cutting the branch he is sitting on. That is why we are not thinking of sitting at the constitutional table with someone who does not comply with the current constitution."