President Erdoğan: Türkiye stands with all passengers on the Sumud Flotilla

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the Extended Provincial Presidents Meeting at the AK Party Congress Center. President Erdoğan condemned the attacks on the Sumud Flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, saying, "I condemn the banditry targeting the Global Sumud Flotilla, which set out to draw attention to the barbarity in which children are starving in Gaza and to bring humanitarian aid to the oppressed Palestinians. This attack by the Israeli administration against civilians sailing in international waters has once again proven the insanity in which the genocidal cadre is trying to conceal its crimes against humanity in Gaza. It has been seen that the genocidal Netanyahu government has no tolerance for even the emergence of such a possibility, let alone the establishment of peace. The Sumud Flotilla has once again made the brutality in Gaza and the massacred face of Israel visible to the entire world. Turkey stands by all the hopeful passengers in the Sumud Flotilla, which expresses the common conscience of humanity. Our relevant units are following the developments on the ground, moment by moment, and are taking the necessary measures to prevent any harm to activists and our citizens. As a state and nation, our priority is to end the bloodshed in Gaza." "Our goal is to ensure that humanitarian aid is delivered to the oppressed without obstacles. We will not abandon our Palestinian brothers and sisters who are struggling for life and dignity under very difficult conditions, and we will continue to work with all our might to establish a ceasefire and ensure peace prevails," he said.

'THEY NEVER UNDERSTOOD US'

President Erdoğan emphasized that his party's roots go back to the past, saying, “As the AK Party, we represent a quarter-century of accumulated knowledge, experience, and acquis. On the other hand, we know this very well: although our party was founded on August 14, 2001, we are a movement spanning centuries in terms of our roots and the sources it feeds from. The roots of this movement are in Malazgirt, Söğüt, Dumlupınar, Sakarya, and Çanakkale. We are a political cadre that has inherited the legacy of the Seljuks and Ottomans, their horizons, accumulation, and experience, and has further blended these with the achievements of the Republic. Those who constantly lecture about our party without knowing what kind of a movement the AK Party is, have never understood us. The negative predictions they have voiced about us for 24 years have always been in vain. The slander and lies they have hurled against our party have always exploded in their faces. Their attempts to sow discord among our party cadres have ended in disappointment. Instead of understanding us, they They confused them with themselves and were wrong every time. I'm drawing your attention to this: more than 24 years have passed since our party was founded. In just one month, we'll be completing 23 years in power. But we still see no signs of change in those who look askance at the AKP. Despite their repeated failures over the past 24 years, you see the same flawed analyses, the same misguided predictions, the same stereotypical, outdated interpretations. Instead of learning from their mistakes and getting their act together, they continue their operations as if nothing has happened.

President Erdoğan said, "I want everyone, especially the hitmen who are trying to erode our party culture through immoral fabrications, to know this very well: As the AK Party, we are a movement of cause and cadre. What brings us together is not our interests, but our values. It is our loyalty to our cause, our love of serving our nation. Positions, positions, ranks, honors, and seats are all temporary. What remains is our cause and a pleasant sound we leave in the sky. This is what politics is for the AK Party. We have come to this day by changing, by renewing ourselves and our cadres. But while doing this, we have always considered our fellowship and cause. We have been careful to preserve our bond of brotherhood. Almost every friend of mine has handed over the baton to our new friend, embracing them, exchanging blessings, and hugging each other with peace of mind. For example, thank God, none of the fights and insults that have become traditions in the CHP have ever occurred here. We have always respected the rights and rights of our brothers and sisters who have contributed even the slightest bit to our party. We have been meticulously working on this for 24 years." "It is our most fundamental quality that we tremble with. I would like to remind you that there will be no fatigue, no let-up, no complacency in those who shoulder the nation's trust," he said.

'AK PARTY MEANS POPULAR MUNICIPALITY'

President Erdoğan stated that they would continue to conduct an x-ray of both their organization and municipalities, saying, “An AK Party municipality means a municipality that is people-oriented, not a profiteering or profiteering one. Our doors are wide open to anyone who passionately wants to serve their city and voters and who has embraced our party’s principles. Our doors are wide open to those who refuse to surrender to the pressure of the thieves who have turned municipalities into family farms. With this understanding, we will continue to expand our ranks. We will not allow our friends who join our family to be subjected to threats, intimidation, or psychological violence. As the AK Party, we worked tirelessly throughout the summer. Under the coordination of our Headquarters Organization, all our colleagues, from deputy chairmen to ministers, from our Central Decision and Executive Board members to our members of parliament, were fully on the ground for 49 days. We held meetings in all 81 provinces and 973 districts, including central districts. At these meetings, we explained our work and listened to demands and opinions. We provided information about the ‘Terror-Free Turkey’ process, which we are implementing as a state project.” We've cleared up any doubts. We're making our assessments based on the suggestions, findings, and criticisms we gather at meetings where we take the pulse of our people. We have no reservations, no complexes, about holding ourselves accountable or admitting our mistakes, if any. We have never had any, and we will never have any, and we will address any shortcomings or flaws we may have with determination.

'CHP HAS DISPLAYED THE GREATEST DISRESPECT TO THE NATIONAL WILL'

Referring to the opening of the new legislative year of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Erdoğan said, “I especially want to express that we find yesterday’s scene very valuable. Of course, the fact that the main opposition party broke into Parliament on the first day and ran away with a flimsy excuse has actually exposed their mentality. As a President who has received the votes of nearly 28 million of our citizens, the nonsense they put forward to escape the opening of Parliament is of course worthless in our eyes. Unfortunately, this is the way they do politics. They cannot improve themselves at all. They cannot escape the atmosphere of canteen leftism. The truly saddening aspect here is that the shameful act was directly directed against Parliament and the nation. The CHP displayed the greatest disrespect not to us, but rather to the national will and the veteran Parliament, which they constantly talk about. Unfortunately, despite all the dirt that has been spilled, the CHP still has not been able to escape the tutelage of the criminal organization that has robbed municipalities. Türkiye’s main opposition party, instead of democratic politics, has adopted bribery, extortion, "Being associated with favoritism, corruption, and fraud is not only shameful but also alarming for Turkish democracy. It appears that the CHP will not be able to properly fulfill its role as the main opposition party unless it rids itself of its own foul play. The CHP, and especially yesterday's special session when it absconded, presented us with a significant opportunity to witness the maturity our democracy has reached. Following the session, we had a very candid conversation with the leaders of our political parties. We expressed our hope that civility, tolerance, empathy, and mutual respect will prevail in politics throughout the new legislative year. We particularly emphasized that, as the AK Party and the People's Alliance, we will lead the way in creating this climate."

'HE GOES TO CRISIS PRAYERS MORNING AND EVENING'

President Erdoğan, noting that they will begin implementing the Turkish Century Reform Program, the general framework of which was previously shared, in the new legislative year, said, “A significant portion of this reform initiative will consist of steps to strengthen fiscal discipline in local governments. We are also finalizing our Financial Administration Reform Package, which we introduced in recent months and attracted considerable attention. We are meticulously evaluating your suggestions and contributions during this process. I am sure you are also following the developments. Many municipalities that changed hands in the recent elections have already begun to fly the flag of bankruptcy at the point of being crumbling. From concerts to asphalt, from advertising to zoning, corruption scandals spring up everywhere you turn. Billions, tens of billions, are being spent. But there are no services, no work. In the election arenas, they used to say, ‘How can you buy money from God’s water?’ Now, the people can barely find drinking water, even at exorbitant prices. Water trucks, water canisters, mountains of garbage, and stranded buses are no longer the exception; they are the norm. They are so brazen that they can't even collect the garbage. They don't even have regular water from the tap.” "They can't even keep the flow going. They can't even get the buses to the bus stop on time. And they shamelessly try to lecture us about our reputations. Instead of dealing with these issues, the CHP leader prays day and night about crises. One day, you see him criticizing nuclear energy using fish as an excuse. The next week, he's talking about Türkiye's natural gas supply agreements. He's spinning his own scenarios, distorting the aircraft purchase negotiations that Turkish Airlines has been carrying on for two years and publicly announced to the world. He has neither international trade knowledge nor the rules of diplomacy. He's so utterly ignorant that he thinks buying gas from international markets is as simple as buying a soda from the grocery store."

'DO NOT GIVE CREDIT TO EFFORTS TO COVER UP THEIR CORRUPTION'

Finally, addressing his party's provincial chairs, President Erdoğan said, "What I've just said is enough to understand how heavy our burden is. We must work, work harder, and provide more services. I ask you to embrace your responsibilities wholeheartedly. Do not give credence to the opposition's efforts to conceal their corruption. Focus solely on your work; please, do not stray from your own agenda. Leave the ugly language of those who attack us and you to the discretion of the nation. No matter what they do, no matter what they say. We will patiently move forward, united, together, as the entire organization, as companions."

DHA

Reporter: News Center