A new response from President Erdoğan to Trump's Gaza plan: You don't have the power for a second Nakba.

10.02.2025 12:00

President Erdoğan was awarded an honorary doctorate by Sultan Nazrin Shah of Perak in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. Erdoğan later addressed public employees and university students. In his speech, he referred to Trump's Gaza plan, stating, "With God's permission, no one has the power to bring about a second Nakba for the Palestinian people, and no one will."

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed public employees and students in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.

Highlights from President Erdoğan's statements:

At the very beginning of my speech, I would like to convey the warmest greetings and love of 85 million of our brothers and sisters in Turkey to you. I feel a separate excitement and happiness every time I visit Malaysia, which we see as a sincere friend and brother. I would like to once again thank my esteemed brother, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, his wife, and all the people of Malaysia for their warm hospitality that makes us feel at home.

As you know, the roots of the relations between the Turkish and Malay peoples go back to the 16th century. We share a common set of values both historically and culturally. Last year, we celebrated the 60th anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic relations with great excitement and happiness together. I hope that these close and friendly relations between our countries will continue to gain momentum and become even stronger in every field in the future.

"OUR WORLD IS BEING DRAGGED INTO A NEW STRUGGLE FOR SHARING"

We are making our visit to Malaysia during a period of significant changes in the context of regional and global developments. While production, consumption, and distribution habits are radically changing, our world is simultaneously being dragged into a new struggle for sharing. This storm of change brings with it various political, social, and economic fractures on a global scale. We also observe that the competition between countries has become more destructive, polarization has increased, and protectionist and unilateral approaches have become routine during this process.

Here, it is essential to accurately identify one issue. The founders of the global system are the victors of World War II. Those who set the rules of the game in many areas, from international relations to economy, finance, and trade, are also the same countries. For the last 80 years, a significant portion of the underground and above-ground resources transferred from east to west has been used to support the economic, political, and military power of these countries and to finance the welfare of their people.

Let us put our hands on our conscience and answer the following questions. Is it a coincidence that the independence movements that began in the 1960s were later interrupted by military coups? Is it merely a coincidence that the victims of the arm wrestling between the two main actors of the Cold War are generally oppressed nations? Can we see the overthrow of leaders who want to balance their commercial relations with great powers as innocent? If today, 55% of the world's population receives only 1.3% of the total income, is there not a problem stemming from the system? Can we consider it normal that a child born in North America has more opportunities than 70 children living in Africa? We can multiply comparisons and examples.

"WE CLEARLY VOICE OUR OBJECTION TO THIS UNJUST ORDER IN EVERY PLATFORM"

This structure, which protects the strong, the oppressor, the elite, and the rich, rather than the just, the oppressed, and the weak, cannot continue in the same way, nor is it possible. Because in a place where there is no justice, where justice is set aside for the sake of savage interests, there can be no peace, tranquility, or development for humanity.

Let us accept that the garment tailored for humanity under the extraordinary conditions of 80 years ago is now too tight for our world. We all see the signs of this in a wide range. Moreover, we evaluate the increasing impositions in recent times as the struggles of those who do not want to lose their privileges. We clearly voice our objection to this unjust order, where the just is not strong, but the one who holds power is always right, in every platform.

As Turkey, we believe in this: First and foremost, a structure that does not represent the Islamic world, which has a population of over 2 billion, is inherently unjust and cannot distribute justice. It is certainly not to be expected that a structure that excludes a quarter of the world's population can provide security or contribute to global stability and peace. The same situation applies to other groups that cannot find representation in the global governance system. Therefore, we need a new understanding and a new global order to solve problems, from economy to diplomacy, from trade to security.

Building a fair, sharing, and trust-based system that embraces everyone and sees differences as wealth is not just a preference but a necessity. Our motto, "The world is greater than five," has become one of the symbols of this search for a new order. The realization of this ideal will primarily be achieved by breaking the shackles placed on minds. We must first believe in the feasibility of building a world where peace prevails instead of conflict, security instead of fear, tranquility instead of terror and violence, and prosperity instead of scarcity. When we say a fairer world is possible, we are essentially drawing attention to this. Even if the privileged club that benefits from the current system does not want it, a fairer world in terms of economic, commercial, social, and international representation is indeed possible.

I must also express this with all sincerity. For a genuine change to occur, it is not enough to object only to the injustices we face. We must also have the courage to open our hearts to the injustices and sufferings of others while defending our own rights. Let us not forget that in a place where the weak perish, there is only sorrow, tears, and pain. As Turkey, we act with this perspective. We are aware of our responsibility and are fighting to fulfill this responsibility properly.

While doing all this, we are striving to establish new partnerships and enrich our foreign relations and cooperation network. With the awareness of Asia's increasing importance, we aim to strengthen our ties and cooperation with the continent within the framework of the Asia Revisited vision we announced in 2019. In the past 5 years, we have made significant progress in this regard.

In this opening, Malaysia has always held a special place. We elevated our relations with Malaysia to the level of strategic partnership in 2014 and to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022. We have started to solidify our cooperation with concrete steps, in a manner befitting the deep-rooted and close relations between our peoples. For us, Malaysia is one of the leading countries in the region with its dynamic economy and nearly 35 million population.

We aim to develop our relations with a vision of technological cooperation and joint production, especially with this kind of approach. We have reached the stage of reaping the fruits of this vision. TUSAŞ has become an effective facility that offers job opportunities to over a hundred young Malaysian engineers. The construction of the second batch of coastal patrol vessels has begun with the cooperation of our defense industry companies.

We have an important cooperation regarding ANKA UAVs. In line with the targets we have set in trade volume, we exceeded 5 billion dollars in 2024. We aim to increase trade to 10 billion dollars in a balanced manner.

We want to enhance our cooperation in every sector, from semiconductor technologies to automotive, from aircraft technologies to civil-purpose simulators, and to move forward together with Malaysia in different fields. Our countries have a unique feature of being gateways to Asia and Europe. In this regard, we desire to strengthen our air connections even further. Considering that our second largest airport is operated by Malaysia Airports Holdings, the cooperation between Turkey and Malaysia is developing strongly.

I see the steps we will take in the humanitarian field as very valuable. With the contributions of the largest Yunus Emre Turkish Cultural Center in the region, we are making significant progress here as well. Our Turkey Maarif Foundation's efforts to establish schools are ongoing. I consider it a duty to pass on the deep affection that the two countries have for each other to new generations, and I believe we need to create the necessary infrastructure and opportunities for this. Young people who suffered from prohibitive and oppressive practices in our country for a period came to Malaysia and received higher education here. During our governments, we made significant investments in education. We have developed serious opportunities, especially in the field of education and training in Turkey. We are hosting nearly 340,000 international students from over 190 countries in Turkish universities, which have reached a number of 208. I invite my young student brothers and sisters here to benefit from these educational opportunities in our country.

We are also proud of Malaysia's achievements in diplomacy, production, finance, and trade. I wish Malaysia success in the 2025 ASEAN Presidency. I sincerely hope that this new era under Malaysia's leadership will serve to strengthen the cooperation between our country and ASEAN.

We are acting in complete solidarity on many issues, especially those concerning the Muslim world with Malaysia. I appreciate Malaysia's support for the Gaza and Palestinian cause. I welcome Malaysia's resolute stance in combating Islamophobia. We are also determined to advance our relations within the framework of D8 and to increase economic development cooperation.

Let me emphasize one point here. Since the first day of the massacres in Gaza, where Israel is committing genocide, we have conducted a very intense diplomatic traffic. We have drawn attention to Israel's state terrorism on all platforms, including the United Nations General Assembly. We condemned the oppression and became the voice of Palestine. In addition to the humanitarian aid we sent, which exceeded 100,000 tons, we clearly expressed our reaction by completely halting trade relations with Israel. We made every effort for the attacks to cease and for the perpetrators to be held accountable under international law. Of course, we faced a lot of pressure due to these relentless efforts for 15 months. We were threatened. We were subjected to character assassinations by the Zionist lobby. But we never bowed to oppression and the oppressor. We never left the oppressed people of Gaza and Palestine without support for even a moment. This process also showed us the impotence of the international system.

Unfortunately, the United Nations Security Council could not put a stop to Israel's massacres, which have claimed the lives of over 61,000 Palestinians, most of whom are children and women, for the reasons I just mentioned. The Western world has failed a very serious test during the 471 days. International media organizations and human rights organizations that watched the killings of hundreds of journalists have also failed the Gaza test. We witnessed a significant collapse in terms of humanitarian values and international law for 471 days. Two million people, confined to 360 square kilometers, experienced one of the most brutal genocides of the last century. Despite this, our brothers and sisters in Gaza, from the young to the old, from men to women, did not surrender; they did not kneel before the oppressors, nor did they abandon their homeland.

Thanks to the heroic struggle of the resistance forces, Israel could not achieve its strategic objectives. As a result of a process to which we also contributed, a ceasefire agreement was reached between the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and Israel on January 19. However, we see that Israel continues its lawless and arrogant behavior. We do not take seriously the proposals aimed at exiling Palestinians from the lands they have lived on for thousands of years. In the meantime, with God's permission, no one has the power to impose a second Nakba on the Palestinian people, nor will they.

The main point that needs to be discussed here is this: Over 61,000 innocent people have been martyred in Gaza. Schools, churches, mosques, and universities have been bombed. Almost 80% of the buildings in Gaza have been destroyed. There is talk of a massive debris of over 50 million tons. The financial cost of the destruction in Gaza is estimated to be 100 billion dollars. The culprit for this heavy cost is Israel and the Netanyahu government. Israel must pay this cost on its own, without fail.

First and foremost, the cost of the destruction they caused must be collected from the Israeli administration, and this should initiate the reconstruction processes in Gaza. Every unremedied damage will further embolden the perpetrator. Israel cannot be allowed to continue its path as if nothing happened after causing destruction and so much pain and massacre. Therefore, instead of seeking a place for Gazans, whom he could not separate from their lands despite 15 months of massacres, Netanyahu should seek resources to cover the 100 billion dollars of damage he caused in Gaza.

I would also like to draw your attention to this. We experienced a significant disaster in the earthquakes of February 6, 2023. We lost more than 53,000 of our people. Over 311,000 buildings became unusable. Despite this dire situation, we cleared the debris in less than two years after the earthquake. We started construction and have delivered 201,000 residences so far. We will deliver 453,000 residences and workplaces before the end of this year. We can demonstrate the same construction and revival success in Gaza as the Islamic world.

With God's permission, we can rebuild Gaza in a very short time. As long as the money that Gazans rightfully deserve is collected from Israel. Similarly, the houses, lands, and workplaces that have been seized by the Israeli state and rogue settlers should be returned to the rightful Palestinian owners. In addition to the reconstruction of Gaza, it is of great importance that we increase our efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem and geographical integrity. I believe that all of these are both a brotherly duty to the oppressed Palestinian people and a debt of conscience.

I see strengthening Turkey-Malaysia solidarity in every field as an important duty inherited from our ancestors.

I would like to express that I see our visit as an important step and a valuable threshold taken in this direction. With these thoughts, I would like to thank my dear brother Mr. Enver Ibrahim once again for the hospitality they have shown. I send my greetings and affection to all my Malaysian brothers and sisters who have embraced us sincerely. I greet you, esteemed participants, once again with respect and love, and I entrust you all to God.