The principle of liberation and foundation of our state

THE SIX ARROWS: REPUBLICANISM

Kemalism, which forms the essence of the Turkish War of Independence, was born out of two necessities. One is the necessity of nationalization, which the War of Independence—the primary objective of which was to save the Turkish homeland from fragmentation and foreign invasion—placed at the forefront; the other is the necessity of modernization, which is rapid enough to immediately regain for the nation the centuries lost since the European Renaissance by separating the liberated homeland from regressive institutions and traditions. Kemalism first found the path to nationalization in the establishment of national sovereignty.

Republicanism is one of the six arrows that are the symbols of the Republican People's Party (CHP), which adopted the essential character of the Turkish revolution as its own program. The Six Arrows are principles derived not from theories, but from national needs. From the date the First Grand National Assembly was established and formed at the beginning of the War of Independence, national sovereignty and will were taken from the hands of the puppet palace and government in Istanbul and gathered in the hands of the members of parliament. It is in this First Grand National Assembly that one must look for the seeds of the Republic.

The Sultanate and the Caliphate remained until victory. Once these institutions, whose historical roles had ended and which had failed, were abolished after the victory, the Republic of Turkey was founded. In Turkey, the Turkish revolution is represented solely by the Republican People's Party, which founded it. The Republican character of the Turkish revolution is the foundation of the principle of national sovereignty that forms the basis of our Constitution.

When Atatürk entrusted the Republic to present and future generations, he chose the youth as the addressee of a political testament that would, above all else, keep the principle of the sovereignty of the entire nation—not that of a single class or group—far from any kind of encroachment in the future. The Republican character, which determines the regime and form of administration of the Turkish revolution, takes its full form and meaning when considered together with the other five characteristics. The CHP believes that the Republic is the form of state that best and most accurately represents national sovereignty. The Republican character of the Turkish revolution draws from the principle of national sovereignty that forms the basis of our constitution.

With this unshakable belief, the Party protects Republicanism against every danger with all its strength and conviction. According to our constitutional law, the form of the state cannot be debated by any means. The CHP, a party that gives importance and path to freedom of speech, writing, and the press, cannot allow even the slightest doubt regarding the Republican form of the state. This is an indisputable reality.

No words can be spoken against the form of the Republic, which is protected with such jealousy and is under the threat of criminal sanctions. The CHP believes so strongly that the Republic is what most clearly represents national sovereignty that it cannot tolerate even the slightest tremor; it protects it against every danger with all its means.

Republicanism, one of the national principles, is closed to debate and is the party's red line.

Prof. Dr. Duran BÜLBÜL