Kılıçdaroğlu: You’ll end up kissing Assad’s hand

CHP General Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu convened the party’s provincial chairs. Kılıçdaroğlu, who made the opening speech at the meeting, noting that the proposed constitutional amendment amounted to the ‘Syria model’, said, ‘They have translated Assad’s constitution.’ Kılıçdaroğlu, pointing to frequent referenced to a ‘mastermind’, commented, ‘Oh, mindless one, don’t you have a mind? You, too, use your mind and take precautions against this. If you bring the state to its knees this is where you finish up and in the end you’ll find yourself going and kissing Assad’s hand.’ Kılıçdaroğlu convened the provincial chairs at head office. Kılıçdaroğlu said the following at the opening of the meeting.
Reaction to the decrees with the force of law: New decrees have emerged. Teachers have been dismissed at good number of universities. People who have devoted their lives to science have been dismissed and decrees with the force of law have been issued that encroach on parliament’s jurisdiction, exploiting a number of matters that have nothing to do with terrorism. What connection does the National Lottery have with terrorism? If a government deceives parliament and the people and, claiming to be combatting terrorism, issues extraordinary decrees in non-terror-related matters, this means that it is betraying democracy.

Turkey’s gakkosh: Virtually no province remains unaffected by acts of terrorism. We have sacrificed people from every one of our provinces and sub-provinces. We experienced this most recently in Izmir. Izmir, beating as a single heart, accompanied the fallen son of Elazığ on his final journey to Elazığ. Elazığ people call those they like ‘gakkosh’. That man who laid down his life is the gakkosh, not just of Elazığ people, but of Turkey. He stepped in on time as the event was unfolding and prevented a much greater act of terror at the cost of his own life. He is Turkey’s hero. We wish for both of our fallen to rest in peace.

Their minds are rented: The subservient media is no different from the PKK or from ISIL. They are all treading the same path. The PKK has attacked me. Who else has? The subservient media. They attack in the same way, with the same mind set. They work alongside the PKK, ISIL, FETO and Al-Nusra, because they have no brains and have rented out their minds. Somebody who rents out their mind has nothing to teach society. We are confronted by a mob made up of parrots. They will attack me again for saying this. You’d have to be lily livered not to attack, but we’re telling the truth.
Send your children: They tell the families of the fallen how great it is that their sons laid down their lives. Why don’t you want your children to attain this hallowed status? Why don’t the gentlemen in Ankara send their children to the military? How greatly you love the idea of laying down lives and love of the nation beats in your hearts, yet, not when it comes to your own children.

Assad model: They’re set on a presidential system. They say it’s the Turkish model. There is nothing national about it. It has no connection with the Turkish model and was not present in the Ottoman system, either. This is the Syrian model. They have taken Assad’s constitution, translated it and installed it here. Assad was the enemy. They have made him a hero. Now they are bringing his constitution and will pass it through parliament. He himself is undergoing Assadisation, that’s why. He says he’ll be the sole man and nobody will be able to speak back to him. They are authorising the president to annul parliament. You are giving a power that Atatürk was not given to the man who is taking Turkey to disaster. We have not forgotten 17-25 (the corruption investigations of 17-25 December 2013) and you are handing this to a man who plunders the state. In speaking of the national will, what they meant was the will of the Palace. This is the betrayal of democracy.

You’ll kiss Assad’s hand: So many journalists have never been incarcerated in any coup period. There was no electricity for days. If a cable had been ruptured this gets fixed in 24 hours. They say that sabotage was involved and this was also the mastermind’s work. Oh, mindless one, don’t you have a mind? You, too, use your mind and take precautions against this. If you bring the state to its knees this is where you finish up and in the end you’ll find yourself going and kissing Assad’s hand. This is the point we have reached.

JOINT STRUGGLE

Do you think they are stupid? If this constitution is accepted, one morning we’ll get up and a ministry will have been closed or he’ll have shut down Tekirdağ Provincial Governate and united the whole of Thrace and proclaimed a single Thrace. He will be able to do all of this. Are these MPs just to be dummies? Today, the law lays down conditions for a person to become an undersecretary. These conditions will come to an end. It may come as a whim and he can issue a decree saying that you must be from his village to be an undersecretary. He will be both president and party general chair, and also impartial. Partially impartial, however that works. He will swear an oath of impartiality in parliament. Do you think that our people are stupid?

Think of your children: I give a sincere warning to those who are going to vote ‘yes’: Think of your children. Think of Turkey’s future, the struggle we have waged for democracy, those who have lost their lives to further this struggle and Turkey’s place in the modern world. Countries with totalitarian regimes are not held in esteem. The is not the CHP’s concern but the concern of all of us; the joint concern of social democrats, conservatives, the pious, nationalists, nationalist youth and followers of Atatürk. So, we will wage a joint struggle.