Tension in Parliament over Öcalan: 'Peace with PKK, war with CHP: Dialogue with Öcalan, war with İmamoğlu'

CHP Malatya Deputy Veli Ağbaba, in his speech at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) General Assembly, harshly criticized the government's approach during the process it calls a "Terror-Free Turkey." Speaking during the deliberations on the legislative proposal that also includes TRT and Constitutional Court decisions, Ağbaba criticized the government's contradictory policies with the following expressions:

"While making peace with the PKK, you are declaring war on the CHP. You are reaching an agreement with Öcalan, but you are fighting with İmamoğlu. Dialogue with Kandil, war with Ümit Özdağ; a reckoning with Gezi prisoners... You say, 'Let Öcalan come to Parliament,' but you are launching terror investigations into our municipalities."

Ağbaba concluded his remarks by saying, "If peace is to come to this country, justice must come first."

DELIBERATIONS ON THE LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL HAVE CONCLUDED

In the Parliamentary General Assembly, deliberations on the entirety and the first section of the proposal, which includes regulations previously annulled by the Constitutional Court as well as amendments to Decree-Law No. 375 and certain other laws, have been completed.

AĞBABA POINTS TO PARLIAMENT

Pointing to the TBMM as the address for solving the problem, Ağbaba spoke as follows:

"This problem must be solved in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, it must be transparent, and conditions not accepted by the families of martyrs and veterans must never be accepted. The process that began at the end of 2012 and ended in the middle of 2015 was conducted behind closed doors. The MHP objected and was immediately accused. There was no insult left that was not directed at the Republican People's Party. Those who sat at the Dolmabahçe table, Sırrı Süreyya Önder and İdris Baluken, were condemned to rot in prison for many long years. All the HDP politicians who held meetings in Kandil and İmralı that day were thrown into prison when the table was overturned.

Would Mr. Efkan Ala, Mr. Yalçın Akdoğan, Mr. Mahir Ünal, who sat at this table, go anywhere without the knowledge of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan? Therefore, he actually gave the instruction, but he overturned the table when the process did not work in his favor. This issue can only be solved fundamentally under the roof of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, with the cooperation of all political parties, without excluding any political party, and with a transparent and sincere understanding. This cannot be done for the freedom of one person, for one person's seat, or for an alliance to maintain its power; I want to express that if such a thing is done, we will stand against it. A process that encompasses all segments of society and brings true peace to Turkey needs to be carried out."

"YOU ARE MAKING PEACE WITH ÖCALAN, YOU ARE AT WAR WITH İMAMOĞLU"

"While making peace with the PKK, you declared war on the CHP; you are making peace with Öcalan, you are at war with İmamoğlu. Peace with Kandil, war with Ümit Özdağ; peace with the PKK, war with Gezi prisoners. On one hand, you declare war on Esila and university students, while on the other, you make peace with the PKK. Peace negotiations are being conducted with KCK executive Remzi Kartal in Europe, and every level is aware of it; on the other hand, while that resolution process was ongoing in 2015, you throw Ahmet Özer into prison because of a phone call he had with Remzi Kartal. You say, 'Let there be a right to hope, let Öcalan come to Parliament and speak,' yet you launch terror investigations into our municipalities via the HDK. There will be neither peace nor tranquility this way. If peace is to come to the country, justice must come first. We know that a negotiation is being conducted, and the texts that emerge are issued with the signature and approval of the AKP, which is a party to this negotiation; the text that emerged from the organization's congress also has the AKP's approval and signature. Our interlocutor is, of course, the AKP. Are you against the Treaty of Lausanne, the founding agreement of the Republic, or not?

Let's come to the March 19 coup process. The process that began with the appointment of a trustee to our Esenyurt Municipality within the scope of the HDK investigation continues with the arrest of the mayors of Beşiktaş, Beykoz, Şişli, and Beylikdüzü. Ekrem İmamoğlu defeats any candidate the AKP puts forward in all polls; his only crime is coming out ahead in the polls, he has no other crime. The collaborator of the coup was revealed in recent days with the Twitter ban, which was carried out from across the ocean. This coup process has a political leg; who is the political leg? THE AK PARTY, this is the political leg."

"THE LAW MUST BE APPLIED FAIRLY"

Taking the floor on his own behalf regarding the entirety of the proposal containing regulations concerning TRT, CHP Karabük Deputy Cevdet Akay pointed out that TRT violates the principles of impartial broadcasting and criticized the revenues TRT obtains from taxes with the following statements:

"We see TRT's broadcasting; perhaps they might be doing this under government pressure, but they must absolutely broadcast impartially. We all see that while they give extensive space to the ruling parties in their broadcasts, they give very, very little space to opposition parties, including the CHP. This makes it less successful in terms of shaping public opinion in the upcoming elections or the elections we have entered, and it creates unfair competition; this practice must absolutely be abandoned. When we look at it budgetarily, we see that TRT has generated very serious revenues in recent years. Look, the banderole fees paid to TRT between 2024 and 2023 amount to 43 billion 866 million; again, the value of this in dollars is 6 billion 60 million. Again, there was a TRT share in electricity, it was abolished in January 2022; serious revenue was also generated from here: 12 billion 84 million. The total of these two amounts to nearly 56 billion; again, when we look at it in dollars, we are talking about a revenue of 10.8 billion dollars, TRT's revenue, but unfortunately, there is no transparency regarding the spending of these revenues; they do not act transparently.

Now, we are talking about a revenue of approximately 10.8 billion over twenty years; its monetary value at today's exchange rate is 356 billion; a massive amount. When we look at it in terms of advertising revenue, TRT's main operating income should actually be advertising revenue; that has not been the case. Banderole fees are hidden within the prices of goods and services, and you know, it is an indirect tax. These both cause prices to rise and fuel inflation; on one hand, TRT is giving a revenue surplus, making a profit, and it is evaluating this revenue surplus as deposits in banks, buying government bonds, buying treasury bills; we are talking about such a deposit of exactly 10.8 billion evaluated in banks, government bond and treasury bill income. We are talking about the budget having a deficit, right? The budget will have a deficit of 1 trillion 931 billion this year. When we look, we know the figure for the end of March, it is 710 billion, but the cash deficit as of the end of April is 1 trillion 85 billion, interest expense is 685 billion, an increase of 107 percent compared to the same period last year, it has risen to 18.6 billion dollars, a very serious increase is in question, but on the other hand, the revenues of these public institutions are like this, from the student's mobile phone, from the tablet they use."

"WHAT DID THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE DO REGARDING THIS MATTER?"

"A reporter broadcasting on TRT. TRT and the Center for Combating Disinformation denied this, saying, 'Such a person is not employed by us,' but is that so? It is not so, it is not so. They have also broadcast in various regions of the country, they have broadcast in various provinces. This person is making threats, that is, they made a very serious threat implicitly. TRT officials stated and declared, 'They do not work for us,' and stepped aside, but what did the Ministry of Justice do regarding this matter? The follow-up of this issue is also important because while many practices are carried out unfairly and unlawfully regarding legal rules, while our mayors, journalists, and politicians are inside, while they should be tried without arrest, they are trying to continue their lives inside in a state of being under arrest; these erroneous practices must be abandoned, and the law must be applied fairly."

"TRT HAS BECOME THE MOUTHPIECE OF THE PALACE"

CHP Eskişehir Deputy Utku Çakırözer, who criticized TRT for being the AKP's broadcasting organ, stated that TRT does not give time to opposition leaders and that it has engaged in hostility toward Ekrem İmamoğlu after the March 19 operations, and spoke as follows:

"With the legislative proposal we are discussing, we are legalizing the personal rights of the TRT General Manager and the institution's employees. Why? Because the Constitutional Court found it unlawful, to make it compliant with the Constitution and laws. Fine, but TRT itself does not comply with the same Constitution and laws. What does the TRT Law say: 'Impartial broadcasting, accuracy, public broadcasting, it shall not be the voice of any party,' it says. Which one do they comply with? Salaries are paid and broadcasts are prepared with the taxes of 86 million. The General Manager boasts in the Commission that our revenue has increased by 692 percent in 3 years. How did it increase? The public covers 90 percent of the budget. 12 percent from the phone in our pocket, 16 percent from the television and radio in our home, 4 percent from the computer on our desk, 16 percent from the watch on our wrist, and 1 percent from the radio if there is one in the tractor goes to TRT as a banderole fee. Exactly 510 billion liras in 20 years, the money cut from a family of 4 for TRT is exactly 20 thousand liras. This TRT, which the public finances everything for, has now become Tayyip Erdoğan's radio and television, the mouthpiece of the palace, the broadcasting organ of the AK Party."

"WE WILL HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE BEFORE THE JUDICIARY"

"During the election period, the injustice reached the heavens; while infinite time was granted to Erdoğan and his candidates, there was no room for the CHP, the IYI Party, or the DEM, let alone by the hour, not even by the minute or second. It was not enough; this TRT became a tool for lies and deceit by broadcasting videos that had no reality. Even on election day, they violated the law and made partisan, biased broadcasts. This TRT became both the media leg and the judicial leg of the March 19 civil coup. A public broadcaster should be impartial, there should be the presumption of innocence, the confidentiality of the investigation; none of it matters to them, it is all about hostility toward İmamoğlu. There is not even an indictment in the middle, but TRT has passed the sentence, they will lie in prison for many years. Neither a TRT executive nor a government official comes out and says, 'Friends, what are you doing? It is a shame, it is a sin, it is a crime,' they cannot say it because the remote control of TRT is in the palace. Fine, you made these broadcasts, at least let the man use his most fundamental right, the right of reply, publish the responses of his lawyers; you do not do that either.

The TRT General Manager has come out and said, 'I will broadcast every second of our President live.' Fine, broadcast him, but broadcast us too. Our Chairman is organizing rallies in Anatolia twice a week, attended by hundreds of thousands, against the usurpation of the national will. Which one does this TRT broadcast? How many minutes of these rallies did you broadcast? Does the rallies of the leader of Turkey's 1st party, the search for justice and law of the millions there, the cry for freedom for İmamoğlu have no news value for this TRT, for this nation? We will sooner or later hold them accountable before the judiciary for the broadcasting policy of this TRT, which has turned into Tayyip Erdoğan's radio and television, which ignores the rule of law, justice, and democracy, which has forgotten impartiality, which has turned into a propaganda tool for a party, and for the corruption and irregularities committed."

News Source: 12punto