Ümit Özdağ's 'new constitution' statement: 'Apply the existing one'
Zafer Party Chairman Ümit Özdağ, who was released from prison, made statements at his party's headquarters. Addressing the new constitution debates, Özdağ emphasized that the decisions of the Constitutional Court (AYM) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) must be implemented, stating, "Calls for a new constitution are not legitimate while the current one is not being applied."
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Zafer Party Chairman Ümit Özdağ, who was released yesterday after being held in Silivri Prison for approximately 5 months, made statements at his party's headquarters. Sending greetings to Ekrem İmamoğlu and other detainees who continue to be held in Silivri Prison, Özdağ said the following:
"I send my individual greetings to those remaining in Silivri Prison. I convey my greetings to Mr. Ekrem, Mr. Buğra, and Ms. Ayşe Barım, who I believe should never have been inside. I send my greetings to everyone being held within the framework of enemy criminal law. They were rightfully happy about my release after 5 months inside, but it is a bittersweet joy because these practices continue. Hopefully, we will rejoice when the rule of law is established and an independent judiciary is formed for all citizens, but for now, it remains in the realm of personal joy, which is something politics, in a position of responsibility, should not do. I hope that in Turkey, politicians will fear the press, but the press will not fear politicians."
"ECHR AND CONSTITUTIONAL COURT DECISIONS MUST BE IMPLEMENTED"
Making statements regarding the demand for a new constitution, Özdağ used the following expressions:
"We have a lot of time inside. I was reading 10 newspapers, and I applied to the Ministry of Justice for 3 television channels that were not broadcasting in the prison to be allowed to broadcast, and they accepted; I had the chance to watch them as well. There were also lawyers and visitors coming constantly. I was hosting more or less 12 visitors. We are going through a difficult process. High tension in politics affects the government more. We need to quickly stop being a high-tension society. It is very easy to lower this. Implement the Constitutional Court decisions, implement the ECHR decisions. Before starting work on a new constitution, fulfill the requirements of the current constitution so that the demand for a new constitution has justification and legitimacy. Even just taking this step would mean abandoning the practice of enemy criminal law. The constitution and laws do not protect us, but the same laws protect a portion of the citizens, the portion close to the government. This is not fair or right. There should be one law for one nation."