24.02.2026 14:33
Tülay Hatimoğulları, co-chair of the DEM Party, spoke at the group meeting held in the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Hatimoğulları stated that the commission report should be implemented immediately, saying, "There is no point in waiting for the holiday. Let's do good deeds together in this blessed month." Ahmet Türk responded to Bahçeli's words, "The two Ahmets should be seated in their positions."
DEM Party Co-Chair Tülay Hatimoğulları spoke at her party's group meeting held in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM). The group meeting was also attended by the dismissed Co-Chair of Mardin Metropolitan Municipality, Ahmet Türk.
Hatimoğulları's agenda included the joint report published by the National Solidarity, Brotherhood, and Democracy Commission. Responding to TBMM President Numan Kurtulmuş's statement that "It is essential for legal regulations to be brought to the agenda immediately after Ramadan," Hatimoğulları said, "There is no point in waiting for the holiday that Mr. Kurtulmuş and other representatives of the government have indicated. Let's do good deeds together in this blessed month."
Hatimoğulları stated that there is no need to wait for legal regulations for some expressions included in the report. Hatimoğulları asked, "Is there a need for a legal regulation to implement the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the Constitutional Court? This waiting is an extremely arbitrary wait. Why are Demirtaş, Yüksekdağ, Kavala, and Can Atalay still inside? Why are trustees still sitting in the seats of mayors and co-mayors? Why are İmamoğlu and others still being tried in detention?"
"NO LANGUAGE IS 'UNKNOWN'"
Highlights from Hatimoğulları's speech are as follows:
"Last week, February 21, International Mother Language Day was celebrated with great enthusiasm and determination; very important and meaningful events took place everywhere. Mother Language Day reminds us of Turkey's true richness. We are a country where Turkish, Kurdish, Arabic, Laz, Circassian, Armenian, Greek, Syriac, and many other languages share the same sky.
Mother language is among the fundamental rights that come from birth. Mother language or multilingualism does not divide a country; it unites people living from different beliefs and homelands. Mother language is the concrete name of equal citizenship, democracy, and justice. No language is "unknown." On the contrary, it is the truth itself. Those who treat languages like UFOs in the 21st century should be ashamed.
In this country, where millions of Kurds live, having the mother language as the language of education does not divide the country; it unites society. And we know very well that democracy cannot be completed without the liberation of the mother language. A Turkey where every language speaks with its dignity will be a strong gain for equality and a common future. Long live International Mother Language Day. Long live all the languages living in Turkey!
"YOU ARE GOVERNING THIS COUNTRY"
This is a matter of vital importance in Turkey. Empty pots, hunger, poverty, discrimination, inequality. We are fed up with words about economic reform, new programs, and new models. The hunger threshold for a family of four in Turkey has become 43,415 lira, and the poverty threshold is 105,000 lira. In the past, a minimum wage earner could support a family of four; now, four minimum wage earners cannot even support a household of four. Even their total falls below the poverty line. This country is not governed by aliens. AKP, you are governing this country. You are the very cause of this great hunger and poverty, and the deepening of hunger and poverty.
"THE ASSEMBLY MUST TAKE ACTION"
Turkey is going through one of the most critical, fragile, but hopeful periods in its history if a realistic solution line is followed. The days ahead are not ordinary days; they are moments when we will decide whether to resolve a century-old knot. In this context, the statement made by our İmralı Delegation on February 18, where Mr. Öcalan expressed himself, is a very important political declaration.
I want to particularly emphasize a sentence from this declaration attributed to Mr. Öcalan: "We want to discuss how we will come together and how we will live together in peace."
Yes, "how will we live together?" This question is the fundamental question of Turkey. Finding the answer to this question means finding the compass for the new era. We want to talk about a free and democratic life based on consent, not the death resulting from a life based on coercion. This question is now "the duty of the country." Therefore, thinking about the answer to this question, producing proposals, and contributing is the common responsibility of 86 million citizens. The period should be one of "democratic integration," where violence is out of the picture, and words and politics are spoken. Legal guarantees based on social consensus should be implemented in the Assembly. The issue is now a negotiation of "how we will set the rules within the same house."
At this point, I want to refer to the joint report. As you know, the joint report of the "National Solidarity, Brotherhood, and Democracy Commission" has been shared with the public. It has its shortcomings, and the language used is based on old clichés. You can only deceive yourself by squeezing the Kurdish issue into the terrorism bracket. We have presented our opposition note during this process, and our evaluations are included in this report, but of course, some legal regulations and the framework for democratization included in the commission report are also important. It is a candidate for Turkey's problems, but only if the requirements are met.
There is no need to wait for the holiday to implement the regulations included in the report. While this report has emerged, the Assembly must urgently take action. In this context, there is no need to wait for the implementation of proposals that do not require a single legal change. Look, there is nothing that requires the judiciary to wait for the emphasis on implementing the ECHR and Constitutional Court decisions included in the report.
"WHY IS İMAMOĞLU BEING TRIED IN DETENTION?"
There is no need for a legal regulation to implement the ECHR and Constitutional Court decisions. This waiting is an extremely arbitrary wait. Why are Demirtaş, Yüksekdağ, Kavala, and Can Atalay still inside? Why are trustees still sitting in the seats of mayors and co-mayors? Why are İmamoğlu and others still being tried in detention?
Moreover, there is no point in waiting for the holiday that Mr. Kurtulmuş and other representatives of the government have indicated. Let's do good deeds together in this blessed month. Let's pass the penal code, framework law, and democratization laws this month. Let's give good news and happiness to 86 million people during the holiday."
BAHÇELİ'S WORDS ON "THE STATUS OF İMRALI"
Referring to MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli's words, "How will the status gap of İmralı, which serves a Turkey without terrorism, be closed?" Hatimoğulları announced her party's proposal.
Hatimoğulları stated, "For a lasting peace, Mr. Öcalan's status must be recognized by a legal regulation and secured legally. This process should not remain nominal; legal regulations should be quickly made under the roof of the TBMM."
AHMET TÜRK ALSO ATTENDED
Bahçeli, who suggested that the trustee system be reconsidered, said in his party's group meeting today, "The two Ahmets should be allowed to sit in their positions." Following Bahçeli's statement, Ahmet Türk, one of the 'two Ahmets' who was appointed as a trustee, attended the DEM Party Group Meeting.
Turk, in a statement made after the Group Meeting regarding the issue, said, "Our people are now expecting concrete steps to be taken. There is no need for legal regulation on the issue of trustees. The public wants these steps to be taken. They want a secure environment to be established. The trustee issue is not our demand. We insist on this matter because it is a mortgage on the will of the people. There has been a loss of trust among the people. This needs to be eliminated. Steps in accordance with the decisions of the ECHR and the Constitutional Court need to be taken," he stated.