Kılıçdaroğlu: Discrimination cannot be made among the tears of mothers

Kılıçdaroğlu said, Making this regulation, and I say it loud and clear, and let Binali Yıldırım hear, let ministers hear and let the individual in the palace hear, the people who made this regulation, who discriminated among the fallen, are traitors. Can discrimination be made among the fallen, for heaven’s sake? Can discrimination be made among the tears of mothers?”
 
Republican People’s Party (CHP) General Chair, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, has addressed his party’s group meeting. Kılıçdaroğlu, describing the withdrawal of the sexual abuse bill by the AKP as a victory for women, said, “Women’s power brought about the withdrawal of this bill. Turkey has been dragged into a quagmire. Women will rescue Turkey from this quagmire.” Kılıçdaroğlu, reacting strongly to the decree with the force of law promulgated yesterday exempting relatives of the 15 July fallen from military service, spoke as follows, “Making this regulation, and I say it loud and clear, and let Binali Yıldırım hear and let the individual in the palace hear, is treasonable. Can discrimination be made among the tears of mothers who have sacrificed their child for the motherland? No good for the country will come from a party that discriminates among the fallen.”
Members of various women’s civil society organisations that had opposed the sexual abuse bill filled the CHP Group Meeting auditorium prior to Republican People’s Party General Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu’s speech. The women showed their outrage at the sexual abuse regulation by shouting slogans before Kılıçdaroğlu’s speech.

A problem with the sound equipment attributable to a technical fault was experienced during Kılıçdaroğlu’s group meeting speech. At this, Kılıçdaroğlu moved to Group Vice Chair Levent Gök’s place and continued to speak from there.

“If today the Justice and Development Party took a step back, it was this country’s women who made it do so; its courageous women.”

Kılıçdaroğlu said, addressing the women in the auditorium, “I, too, feel honour, I feel pride at all of Turkey’s women. If today the Justice and Development Party took a step back, it was this country’s women who made it do so; its courageous women. This country’s future is in your hands. You are raising our children. I learned more from my mother than from anybody else.”

Kılıçdaroğlu, saying that he wanted to speak of two wonderful events, noted, “Fazıl Say has won the Beethoven Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in the world. We all send our heart-felt congratulations to Fazıl Say. Moreover, our MP Ömer Lütfü Baydar has been elected Vice President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Our heart-felt congratulations also go out to him.”

“Women will rescue Turkey from this quagmire.”

Kılıçdaroğlu, pointing out that Turkey was going through one of its most serious crises in its history, made the assessment, “Turkey is going through one of its most serious crises in its history. Turkey is hurtling downhill like a truck that has lost its brakes. We are all worried about where the country is headed. The dollar is rocketing. They only have one thing on their minds. How to keep rapists out of prison. I first of all thank all of this country’s women from the bottom of my heart. I today express my heart-felt gratitude without distinction to my women sisters who work in the fields, work in shops or inquire after the wellbeing of citizens walking in the street or canvas on behalf of any party. Their power brought about the withdrawal of this bill. Women have become aware of their power for the first time. A further important process stands before us. Turkey has been dragged into a quagmire, from education to foreign policy and from defence to terrorism. Women will rescue Turkey from this quagmire. I have confidence in this.”

“Women showed their power.”

Kılıçdaroğlu continued his speech as follows:

“You for the most part see the parliamentary general assembly on television. But, apart from the general assembly, there are parliamentary commissions. So, draft laws and bills first come to these commissions, where they are debated and then they appear before the general assembly. Experts are invited to the commissions. Civil society organisations are invited to these commissions. Their views are consulted over bills that will be submitted. Sometimes, sub-commissions are formed and in sub-commissions civil society organisations work together with MPs. Then business moves before the general assembly. On television, you see the bills and proposals that have been submitted to the general assembly. The bill that was withdrawn today entered the text, entered the text of a statute, through a midnight proposal. That is, it wasn’t debated in the commissions, so civil society was not consulted for its opinion. That is, the other three political parties in parliament apart from the AKP were not asked for their opinions. A bill was submitted with a ‘what I say goes’ attitude and the bill stumbled through to today because it was unable to gain the required majority thanks to the CHP’s efforts. The strongest reaction was mounted by women. Eighty-three women’s organisations issued a joint statement. There was consent within the AKP that the bill should not being accepted and the bill should be withdrawn. Women showed their power. They demonstrated how powerful they are and the ruling political party was obliged to withdraw this bill. Until today, whenever serious problems have emerged in Turkey, proposals submitted at midnight lie at the heart of these problems whenever legal regulations are involved. When it is possible to sit down and discuss things like adults, discuss like people, sit down and discuss and reach compromise, and solve the country’s problems, we cannot accept bills that act as the source of new problems. You didn’t permit this and once more I extend my heart-felt thanks.”
 “Mehmet Keskin, a member of the Religious Affairs Supreme Council, made the following statement, and let everyone pay heed.”

Kılıçdaroğlu, touching on the comment made by Professor Adem Sözüer, remarked, “He commented, ‘If this bill is made law, then ten people can sexually abuse a girl and if one of them marries the girl they will all be pardoned.’ It is impossible to accept such a thing. This is what provoked our outrage. I especially want to call out to those of our women sisters who campaign on behalf of the AKP. You have devoted years to going around doors and asking people to vote for the AKP. They haven’t appreciated the work you’ve put in. They haven’t valued your children. They haven’t valued your daughters. They are introducing a pardon for rapists. The time has finally come when you must part ways. Part ways and come. The comment made by the Minister of Justice is, ‘These are things that are done at the full consent of the families and underaged people.’ How can you speak of a small child’s consent? Are you to give it a sugar-coated apple and trick it saying, ‘Come on, marry your rapist?’ I once more thank you from the bottom of my heart. There are those who tried to involve religion to endow this with a degree of acceptability. I want to tell my women sisters the following. Mehmet Keskin, a member of the Religious Affairs Supreme Council, made the following statement, and let everyone pay heed. Mehmet Keskin, who states that it is necessary to have come of age to marry, says that in the Islamic world a man can claim to have come of age on turning 18 and as for a girl, on turning 17. Those below this age are deemed to be children because they have not yet acquired adulthood. Marriage between children will cause dire consequences for society. He says, ‘Under Islam, given this is an exalted religion that places a premium on social peace, since impasses of this nature will be encountered if children marry, the marriage of small children is incompatible with Islam.’ Let them pay heed.”

“For whose benefit was this bill proposed?”

Kılıçdaroğlu, saying, “Look at Turkey’s concerns and look at their concerns,” continued, “But there is one thing I am curious about. I am sure that all my sisters are curious, too. For whose benefit was this bill proposed? Who was to get out of jail or, if they had fled abroad, who was to be enabled to come free and easy to Turkey? For whose benefit was it proposed? Our people will seek out this reply, both in the commission and in the general assembly. And you ask on the streets. Ask every AKP supporter you see. Ask them who was meant to be saved by this bill they proposed. Look at Turkey’s concerns and look at their concerns. Look where Turkey is headed. Look at what they are busy with.”
 “The people who made this regulation, who discriminated among the fallen, are traitors”

Kılıçdaroğlu, recalling that he had said that Turkey had plenty of problems, went on to say:

“The political institution must create solutions to these problems. But, the ruling party, that is the AKP, has no capacity or ability to solve problems. It has lost these. Today it promulgated a decree with the force of law. They have discriminated among the fallen and now they are intensifying this discrimination. The brothers and children of the 15 July fallen may, should they so wish, avoid military service. But he children or brothers of those who laid down their lives in the fight against the PKK, against terrorism, are to do military service. Making this regulation, and I say it loud and clear, and let Binali Yıldırım hear, let ministers hear and let the individual in the palace hear, the people who made this regulation, who discriminated among the fallen, are traitors. Can discrimination be made among the fallen, for heaven’s sake? Can discrimination be made among the tears of mothers? Can discrimination be made among the tears of mothers who have dispatched their child to the military and have sacrificed their child for the good of this country, for its independence, for the wellbeing of the country? I call out to all relatives of the fallen. You have now become much more clearly and much more closely acquainted with the Justice and Development Party, that is the party that has forgotten justice and development. It engages in discrimination; it engages in separatism. No good for the country, women, children, self-employed and industrialists will come from any party that discriminates among the fallen and engages in separatism. The final message I wish to give is that nobody should become mired in hopelessness, nobody is entitled or has cause to become mired in hopelessness, because of the existence of this country’s women and this country’s mothers.”


“They think that we, the CHP, will also be taken in. We will not.”

Kılıçdaroğlu, saying that they have embarked on regime change, commented, “They don’t care for the parliamentary democratic system. They don’t care for the MPs elected by the people, for the heroic parliament, for the independence of the judiciary, for the freedom of the media or for the autonomy of universities. They say, ‘Let’s vest all powers in one person and let that be the end of it.’  Do you wish to give all power to one person? I call out to all of this country’s women. If you want your children to live in a wonderful Turkey, we will all stand up together for the parliamentary democratic system and we will all stand up together for the imprisoned journalists. They say, ‘Ladies and gentlemen’, they say, ‘We are not changing the regime.’ They say, ‘It is stuck in 1923.’ They think they are about to deceive a bunch of kids. We know they deceived you. The PKK, FETÖ and ISIL did. They are forever being taken in. They think that we, the CHP, will also be taken in. We will not. I urge Binali Yıldırım openly and clearly. Mr Binali Yıldırım, you are prime-minister so know what it means to be prime-minister. If you are prime-minister, stand up for your office. If you are prime-minister, stand up for the office of prime-minister.

“We will hold them to account so as to expose the political component.”

Kılıçdaroğlu, stating that more than 100,000 public servants have been either dismissed or suspended, went on to say, “Is there a single politician among them? Where are those with political responsibility for this business? Where are those who shared the same bed with the FETÖ terror organisation? Where are those who were on a parallel path with the FETÖ terror organisation? We will hold them to account. We will hold them to account so as to expose the political component. If I do not hold them to account, then despise me. They say, ‘FETÖ deceived us. We were naive but Kılıçdaroğlu knows them all, so let Kılıçdaroğlu be prosecuted.’ I make the following proposal. If you are sure of yourselves, I am prepared to stand trial and you come and we’ll stand trial together. I have no idea if they’ll come. We know that there are hordes of FETÖ people in their midst, people who use Bylock. They have plenty of energy when it comes to tackling privates and low-ranking officers, journalists and writers. They run short of energy when it comes to others. This is because they want to take revenge on the former.”

“We will not rest until you feel our wrath”

Kılıçdaroğlu, stating his intention to mention two events, said, “There is a policeman’s wife; the police officer is detained for connections with FETÖ. The officer’s wife works in the private sector. The provincial governate sends them letter saying that her husband has been detained so sack her. Now, for heaven’s sake, I call out to all women in Turkey. There is something known as the principle of individual criminal responsibility. So, her husband committed a crime – how come the wife is guilty? How is that women to care for her children? She says an instruction came from the governor telling them to sack her. So, what does this amount to? They said to those poor kids, ‘Eat the roots of trees.’ And I say to them that they will never eat the roots of trees. We will stand up for all who have been wronged. We will not rest until you feel our wrath.”
Kılıçdaroğlu, also mentioning a letter sent by the gendarmerie, concluded, “It says, ‘State whether the people and children listed below are in any way registered with your institution.’ OK, we understand the adults, but how are the children to blame? Tabs are also being kept on them. You know, I say they are not people of faith, there is no salvation for them. It is in the farewell sermon – our beloved prophet’s farewell sermon. It is interpreted as being a declaration of human rights. ‘No one committing a crime is responsible for it but he himself. Neither the son is responsible for the
crime of his father nor the father is responsible for the crime of his son.’ How true. So, what do they do? They both pose as Muslims and then even deprive small children of their means of subsistence. They are in great sin. They have stripped the state of merit and have demolished the state.”

“You will find out which person did this and throw them out of parliament”

Kılıçdaroğlu, stating that the Group Meeting had mainly been attended by women, commented, “You have honoured us, you have graced us, we have no end of regard for you. Because you came, they have broken parliament’s sound system, the system here. To prevent our voice from being heard. Even more curiously, they have shut down parliamentary television to stop anyone from watching. I call out to the speaker of parliament. If you have honour, if you are your own man and if you possess morality you will find out which person did this and throw them out of parliament. Otherwise, I will include you in all the accusations I make. Those who do not defend parliament cannot uphold the honour of parliament. Nobody who does not raise their voice against and stands by those who sabotage a meeting held every week by a political party in parliament deserves the name of parliamentary speaker. And for sure, one who fears women does not deserve to be called a man.”

“Now in the same way you are standing up for your country as you have stood up for your children””

Kılıçdaroğlu continued his address as follows:

“This country’s fine women, for you poems have been written, stories have been written, novels have been written and films have been made. You have kept up your households and you have fed your children. You have worried yourself sick over them. If a mere mosquito has bitten your child, you have worried whether it hurt them. When the time came, you sent them of to be soldiers with great pomp. You waited in hope and trepidation, wondering whether your own son would return back to hearth and home. When news of his demise came you went to the neighbour upstairs. To avoid getting the news. The upstairs neighbour’s door was shut so you came back down and were met with painful news. The whole world learnt of you pain and drama. Now in the same way you are standing up for your country as you have stood up for your children. Let nobody forget, let no woman forget that it was Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk who granted you the right to vote and stand for election. He did so before Switzerland, before Japan and before Greece. He granted women the right to vote and stand for election. When we have crowned that republic bequeathed to us by that great man with full democracy and achieved full equality between men and women, that is when we will live in peace of mind in our homes. They are afraid; we will be fearless. Regardless of where and who terrorism comes from, we will stand honourably and steadfastly against terrorism. I give my word, we will thoroughly overhaul the education system. Small businessmen have started praying for tourists because of the lack of tourists in Alanya. You need to ask them why tourists are not coming and who is responsible for this. If you also wish for the AKP to go in your prayer, then, by God, tourists will come; by the almighty, tourists will come.”