Pieces torn from the 'Palace' staff by shifting balances

The pieces on the political stage have begun to shift, and defections from the center of power are accelerating. The AKP government, long squeezed by the vice of the economy, law, and social opposition, is now facing not only external crises but also deep cracks forming within its own internal dynamics.

In this context, the resignation of Chief Advisor to the President Oktay Saral and the imposition of an entry ban to Azerbaijan on 31 individuals are indicators of a chronic systemic deadlock beyond the usual crises. Indeed, the fact that Ilham Aliyev did not attend the 13th Summit of the Organization of Turkic States held in Ankara on October 30-31, sending Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov instead, shows that this systemic deadlock cannot be overcome.

On the other hand, the fund scandal, which resembles the structure of an organized crime syndicate, shows that the ship is taking on significant water and that power struggles have begun over who will remain standing on the sinking ship.

Another indicator of the pains regarding the period of designing elections, bringing the media into line, and bending laws in its own favor is that those supported by the government are losing in professional organization elections.

Globally, a period of global political rupture is being experienced with elections where authoritarian leaders lose at the ballot box and street protests. President Erdoğan's expression "Turkey was not found on the street" reflects the concern that events happening in the world might spill over into our country, while also serving as an indication that the deep undercurrent forming in Turkey is being recognized.

Global Resistance Models and the Serbia Example

This contraction and political deadlock in Turkey are understood more clearly when read alongside social dynamics in the world. Lula's victory in Brazil (despite the Trump support behind Bolsonaro) and especially the political move achieved by young people in Serbia have revealed the power of the deep undercurrent on a global scale. Therefore, the process experienced in Serbia serves as an important lesson for the social opposition in Turkey.

University youth in Serbia rejected existing political institutions and started a movement. The flare was the collapse of the train station roof in the Serbian city of Novi Sad on November 1, 2024, which resulted in the loss of 16 lives; subsequently, the government's indifference to student movements demanding the exposure and punishment of those who awarded the tender, its attempt to suppress events with pressure, and its "foreign powers" explanation further triggered university youth, and the process turned into street protests exceeding 100 thousand people.

This movement moved Bosniak and Serbian youth away from identity politics, uniting them on the axis of merit and common sense, and brought them to the point of producing common solutions. Meetings aimed at solutions were held with the participation of academics, and common decisions were taken in these meetings either by consensus or by voting. As a result, 11 principles were determined. These are: (1) Judicial independence, (2) Purging of public officials involved in corruption, (3) Transparency in tenders, (4) Media freedom, (5) Merit in the public sector, (6) Education reform, (7) Support for entrepreneurship, (8) Better working conditions, (9) Breaking up monopolies, (10) Social housing and rural health services, (11) Maintaining balance in foreign policy and reacting to universal human rights violations.

In summary, it was argued with this model that established political systems are far from solving problems, and that the solution lies in uniting and in meritocratic cadres.

Another importance of the Serbian elections is that it is the first indicator that the era of leaders is nearing its end. Because the crises that one-man regimes have dragged the world into are now at a point that can no longer be hidden. Systems that cannot renew themselves and cannot go beyond seat squabbles are depriving humanity of a future and causing societies to decay.

What is the Flare of the Bar Association Election Results?

After the Izmir Bar Association, Prof. Dr. Ümit Kocasakal won the elections for the Istanbul Bar Association, the largest bar association in the world; we congratulate him.

The speeches made and the enthusiasm experienced during the elections are a result of the unwavering defense of the unitary nation-state, the secular republic, and linguistic unity, the uncompromising continuation of the rule of law, and the rejection of the initiative launched by ethnic separatists under the name of a "solution process." Because this process, carried out with the packaging of so-called disarmament, peace, and democracy, serves the goals of imperialism and brings our country to the brink of division.

Treating the murderer of fifty thousand citizens as a counterpart, camouflaged under the name of "talks with Imrali" rather than "talks with Apo," is unacceptable for our republic, which was founded on the essence of full independence, and for our lawyers and citizens loyal to it. The process and results of the bar presidency elections have thus formed a clear stance against such a period and understanding.

If There Is No Future for Us, There Is No Peace for You: Yusuf Tekin Resign!

What is our country's university youth doing in this picture?

University students Nehir Dizdar and Nevin Tekin were arrested for hanging a banner and calling on the minister to resign before Yusuf Tekin's visit to Kadıköy High School. Galatasaray University students hung the same banner at their university under the signature of "Galatasaray University Students" to protest the arrest of their friends.

The bar elections, the banners hung, and the arbitrary judicial decisions that go beyond the constitutional order, along with the fund scandal, have deepened the regime's legitimacy crisis at the social base. In this context:

Those who make arbitrary decisions, those who cause suffering to lawyers and citizens, cannot prevent the sinking of the ship in a spiral of organized crime and lawlessness. The economic tables where millions of people are victimized, the robbery order where citizens are directed to funds with the assurance of state institutions, and the bar election results are accelerating the dissolution within the government's base.

In the end, a point has been reached where those who used to wag their fingers at everyone saying "your water is getting hot" and who ensured the liquidation of others are now being liquidated themselves. Aliyev not coming to Ankara, the internal power struggles, the youth wave rising from Serbia, the university students' calls for the Minister of National Education to resign, and the messages in the bar elections all point to the same truth: Facts can no longer be changed with perceptions. The ship is taking on water, and this time, not only the opposition but also those trying to determine who will remain on the sinking ship are sinking.

It should not be forgotten that; "Sovereignty belongs unconditionally to the nation" and no palace staff or organized structure can be permanent in the face of this truth. Therefore, the fact that the system itself has completed its lifespan, rather than who is next, will determine the balances of the coming period.

In the 103rd year of the Republic, we are experiencing with all its clarity how great a foresight the great Atatürk's words "The Republic will remain forever" were.

Happy Republic Day!