His name was erased from the university: Bülent Arınç's call to Erdoğan regarding Beşir Atalay

Bülent Arınç, one of the founders of the AKP, has issued a written statement regarding the removal of the name of Beşir Atalay, who resigned from the AKP in 2019, from the campus of Kırıkkale University, which he founded.

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His name was erased from the university: Bülent Arınç's call to Erdoğan regarding Beşir Atalay

The administration of Kırıkkale University has decided to remove the name of former Interior Minister and founding member of the AKP, Beşir Atalay, from the campus. This decision was taken unanimously at a meeting held by the university administration on July 16, 2025, and the new name of the campus was determined as "Martyrs' Campus."

AKP Group Deputy Chairman and former Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gül reacted to the university administration's decision. Sharing on his X account, Gül stated, "Professor Beşir Atalay has made great contributions to our country and our nation. I learned about this decision taken by Kırıkkale University with sadness. This is a denial of the past and a disregard for loyalty. Loyalty is the backbone of our struggle."

Atalay, who served as the first rector of the university founded in 1992, stated in his explanation to Sözcü regarding the removal of his name from the campus that he had no request for his name to be given to the campus, saying, "I had no request regarding this matter; my friends gave it, and I learned about it much later. Now there is nothing to say. Let everyone do what they want. I am not someone who is out and about talking much. We are trying to live quietly in our own corner."

BÜLENT ARINÇ ISSUES WRITTEN STATEMENT REGARDING THE BEŞİR ATALAY CRISIS

Bülent Arınç, one of the founders of the party and former Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), has also joined the debate that has created a crisis within the AKP.

In a written statement published on his X account, Arınç noted the following:

"From our friendship that began at Ankara Faculty of Law to this day, I have been a fellow traveler in the same cause with Prof. Dr. Beşir Atalay for exactly 58 years. He is one of the most loyal and service-oriented statesmen of this country.

He became the founding rector of Kırıkkale University in 1992. He was unjustly dismissed during the February 28 process. Despite this, he continued to serve without holding a grudge against his state.

He is one of the names with the highest intellectual and practical contributions to the establishment of the AK Party. He served as a member of parliament for 13 years. He served as Minister of State, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Interior. He compiled his contributions to Turkey's democratization process in his book titled 'Silent Revolution.' This alone shows how profound an intellectual he is.

As a modest response to all these services, his name was given to a campus at Kırıkkale University. However, without any reasonable justification, the university administration removed this name. The campus was named 'Martyrs'."

Yet, Beşir Atalay is a name who has always shown the greatest respect to our martyrs. This decision is neither sincere nor well-intentioned. On the contrary, it is a disrespectful practice that reeks of 'taqiya' (dissimulation) and carries political ulterior motives.

HE MADE A CALL TO ERDOĞAN

I spoke with him. He expressed that he had no prior knowledge of the Rector's attitude and that he was saddened. Our YÖK (Council of Higher Education) President, Mr. Erol Özvar, and high-level officials from Ankara also called him to convey that they were unaware of the issue. Families of martyrs also visited Mr. Atalay to express that they had no involvement in the decision and to personally express the love they have for him.

During this process, I appreciated the loyal statements of our former Minister of Justice Abdülhamit Gül and our Kırıkkale Deputy Mr. Mustafa Kaplan.

It is imperative that this wrong and humiliating decision be corrected immediately. The only person who can do this is our President. He is the one who appoints the rector, and he is the one who can reverse this decision. I have no doubt that he will show loyalty to Mr. Atalay, with whom he worked for many years.

HE MADE A NAME SUGGESTION

On this occasion, I would also like to express this: It would be appropriate to give his name not just to a campus, but directly to the entire university. Kırıkkale University should now be 'Kırıkkale Beşir Atalay University.'

This is our wish, with our respects, from our President.

Bülent ARINÇ

22nd Term Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey"