Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç's statement on the 11th Judicial Package: Penalties will rain down

During his visit to the AKP Afyonkarahisar Provincial Presidency, Tunç stated that they are at the beginning of the Century of Turkey and will build a Turkey without terrorism. Regarding claims that "the Republic of Turkey is behind some countries" in the rule of law index, Minister Tunç pointed out that in the countries mentioned, there is not even an election or democracy.

Drawing attention to the fact that some associations or organizations prepare baseless research lists regarding issues in Turkey, Tunç noted the following:

"You donate to the associations that make those lists, and they put you at the very top. The index on press freedom says 'Turkey is behind Israel.' In Israel, there is no press freedom for journalists, there is no right to life. More than 250 journalists have been martyred in the last two years. These are issues entirely aimed at perception management and propaganda to smear our country. The opposition also constantly tries to use this both in our parliament and in the squares. Our nation has common sense. Hopefully, we will continue on our path by saving Turkey from terrorism as well. We are on the verge of getting rid of the scourge of terrorism that we have been fighting for 41 years. There is a great effort at this point. There is also an important consensus. We have suffered great pain in 41 years, we have given thousands of martyrs. Soldiers, police, teachers, health workers were martyred. In the Southeast, citizens were disturbed most of all there. It caused the delay of the development of those places and trillions in losses. 2.5 trillion dollars. If that money had not been spent here, if it had not gone to terrorism, the welfare of the nation would have been many times greater today."

"We have expanded fundamental rights and freedoms"

Tunç stated that in the last 23 years, they have eliminated one by one all the elements presented as excuses for terrorism. Emphasizing that they provide services to every region of the country without discrimination, Tunç continued as follows:

"We have expanded fundamental rights and freedoms. Not just for Kurdish citizens, but for all our people, regardless of their ethnic origin, from freedom of dress to freedom of thought and freedom of speech. We have come from the days when Kurdish was banned, from the days when Kurdish songs were banned, to today. A new era was opened with the speech made by MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli in October last year. It was a historic speech, a historic call. It was a call that resulted in the dissolution of the terrorist organization, and after the dissolution decision, the process regarding laying down arms began. Then a commission was established in the parliament. The commission has reached the level of a report that will evaluate this process specifically regarding a Turkey without terrorism, ensure the participation of our deputies in this regard, observe the process of laying down arms, and determine the issues regarding the steps that need to be taken, both legal and practical." There is a broad consensus. Deputies were heard, institutions were heard. Again, non-governmental organizations in this field were heard, and about 18 meetings were held."

"We will do whatever our nation wants"

Minister Tunç reported that they shared the work done to make the process more permanent with the deputies and that they are currently at an important stage.

Emphasizing that this process will be carried further with the laying down of arms by terrorism with all its elements, both inside and outside, Tunç said, "In the process of making this process permanent and completely clearing Turkey of terrorism, we will all struggle together to guarantee our future, to bring our children to a peaceful future, and to build the Century of Turkey faster and more easily by taking the steps that need to be taken within the framework of the commission's report in the coming period. We have not taken any steps in this process that would disturb our nation or hurt our martyr families, and we will not do so from now on. We will do whatever our nation wants," he assessed.

"It will be shared with the public when the legislative proposal emerges"

Tunç made an assessment regarding the 11th Judicial Package, which AKP Group Chairman Abdullah Güler shared with the public yesterday.

Stating that the legislative proposal has been referred to the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) Justice Commission, Tunç noted the following:

"Hopefully, the discussions in the Justice Commission will begin this week. After the commission discussions, it will be opened to the discussions of our deputies in the general assembly. I wish it to be beneficial in advance. The 11th Judicial Package contains important regulations aimed at further increasing the effectiveness of criminal justice. In the 10th Judicial Package, important regulations were also made to eliminate the perception of impunity and to eliminate the complaints arising from probation practices. Of course, we can consider these regulations as a continuation. We will not stop there. In the 12th Judicial Package, we also met with our lawyer friends above, we have very important preparations, especially in terms of accelerating legal proceedings and increasing their effectiveness. We presented this to our deputies. They will work on them. It will be shared with the public when the legislative proposal emerges."

"We have experienced a planned judicial reform process"

Tunç emphasized that there are important articles in the 11th Judicial Package, especially aimed at strengthening social peace.

Stating that the legislative proposal consists of 38 articles, Tunç noted the following:

"We care a lot about the protection of children. We must ensure that children are not used by criminal organizations. In this sense, we must prevent children from being dragged into crime. This package includes a regulation that increases penalties for organization members and leaders regarding the use of children in crimes within the scope of organizational activities. We will have further work to be carried out within the scope of our judicial reform strategy document. Hopefully, we want to further increase the satisfaction of our citizens with judicial services with a vision of a judicial system that further establishes trust in justice, is based on the rule of law, does not delay, and is predictable. We have been fighting for this for 23 years. We have experienced a planned judicial reform process."

News Source: 12punto