28.08.2025 21:58
In a speech at the National Solidarity, Brotherhood, and Democracy Commission established in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the 22nd Speaker of the Assembly, Bülent Arınç, stated that the "right to hope," which would pave the way for Öcalan's freedom, "must definitely be implemented and must come to fruition." Continuing his remarks, Arınç also called for a general amnesty, expressing, "I see a general amnesty as a necessary need."
The seventh meeting of the National Solidarity Brotherhood and Democracy Commission, where previous speakers of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey will be heard, was held with the notable statements of the 22nd Speaker of the Grand National Assembly, Bülent Arınç.
Addressing the discussions on "the right to hope" and "general amnesty," Arınç stated, "The issue of the right to hope was brought to the agenda by Mr. Bahçeli's speech. It must be implemented, it must be realized. Let's not think about who will benefit from the right to hope. It has been perhaps ten years since the European Court of Human Rights' decision on the right to hope. Even those sentenced to life imprisonment must think that they can be released one day. I see a general amnesty as a necessary need. Especially at a time when human rights violations have reached their peak, it is definitely beneficial to consider and discuss the limits, scope, validity date of a general amnesty, and the exclusion of certain crimes."
Highlights from Arınç's speech, which lasted about 40 minutes, are as follows: "I have been a friend interested in this issue for a long time. I was involved in the resolution process that continued between 2009 and 2015 when I was the last Deputy Prime Minister, which unfortunately ended negatively. At that time, I expressed that this issue should be pursued in the Assembly with a commission. I am happy that all parties except the İYİ Party are here. I wish that party were here to express its views. I am sure they will follow a path that suits their politics from the outside. This process, which started nearly a year ago, is continuing positively.
A Turkey without terrorism is everyone's desire, but the duty of this commission is to bring this process to a positive conclusion. The conditions for this are national solidarity, that is, social peace. I have been in politics for years and have always worked with the Kurds. We have always expressed that we are brothers with the Kurds. However, politically, the situation has reached a point where those who engage in Kurdish politics have started to say, 'Before you talk about brotherhood, first accept us as equal citizens.' They have even begun to say, 'You elect us as deputies, mayors, and then you imprison us, appointing trustees instead. Where will we do politics?' We must have answers to these, and we cannot proceed with empty rhetoric. It is our shame that we have ignored the brotherhood that has lasted for a thousand years and that assimilation policies have somehow been implemented. We must give up on these. The point we have reached is where the sea has run dry, and the ship has run aground. Therefore, we must take advantage of this good opportunity.
"IS THERE A SOCIAL CONSENSUS; YES" I ask the representatives from this commission and the parties outside to forget any statements you have used from the past. If you do not forget these, radical statements may block our path. Let's look ahead. Otherwise, it will not work with what Mr. Bahçeli said before October and what Mr. Erdoğan did before October.
We were all surprised by the process initiated by Mr. Bahçeli. I was initially surprised that something that could be laughed off if said by someone from within us was declared by a party leader who has opposed this for years. If it hadn't started from such a high level, we couldn't have reached this point. Today, everything has started to proceed smoothly. Sometimes leaders do things that go down in history with their steps. The new path we have started is not about waging war with conventional weapons. We need to conclude this process with new methods. Is there a social consensus; yes. When you say, 'Let the coffins no longer come,' 90% approve of this. The Republic is our most indispensable value, but there are some countries that are governed by sharia despite having the name republic. For us, the republic is the one crowned with democracy. The further we are from democracy, even if it is called a republic, there is nothing it can offer its citizens in the name of democracy.
"THE DUTY OF THIS COMMISSION IS NOT TO PREPARE A NEW CONSTITUTION" Democracy must be as it says. Today, you may not find some provisions in the constitution correct, you can change them, you can also make a new constitution, but 'the best constitution is the one that is applied, and the worst constitution is the one that is not applied.' I find it very wrong to try to postpone the provisions that are deemed useless while taking the parts of the current constitution that suit us. We always need a new, modern, less article constitution that is libertarian in terms of fundamental rights and duties. But I believe the duty of this commission is not to prepare a new constitution.
Some issues need to progress in terms of strengthening the internal front. There are problems in the economy, and we are all experiencing these problems together. Today, those at the helm of the economy have rolled up their sleeves and taken some measures to combat inflation according to their own understanding. Within this commission, we need to be very patient and support those in charge of financial and economic matters outside of opposition. The second stakeholder is the developments in Syria. This process is very relevant. Because the number of terrorists in Turkey has decreased so much that we almost knew their shoe sizes. I find the steps taken by the President regarding Syria positive. I hope that the decisions to be made regarding the termination of this terrorism will also be inclusive within Syria.
"THE DECISIONS OF THE ECHR AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT NEED TO BE IMPLEMENTED" Terrorism is a quagmire; you cannot deal with it by killing three or five of them. We have fought against terrorism for years, but we have not done much regarding the causes that give rise to the phenomenon of terrorism. But the quagmire remains there. We have just come to the point of fighting against terrorism. I hope we can succeed in this. The decisions of the ECHR and the Constitutional Court need to be implemented. I want to remind you of this again. Freedom of expression needs to be strengthened. The things we did in the first ten years were provisions that strengthened freedom of expression. Today, there are problems in this regard. No freedom is unlimited, but this limitation must be reasonable and lawful.
A regulation was made in the execution legislation 3-5 years ago, but this regulation was insufficient. However, those who were tried in a certain way after July 15 and ended up in prison fell under the scope of 3/4. Women with children, teachers, doctors, etc.
"THERE IS A URGENT NEED FOR A GENERAL AMNESTY" The issue of the right to hope was brought to the agenda with Mr. Bahçeli's speech. It must be implemented, it must be realized. Let's not think about who will benefit from the right to hope. It has been almost ten years since the European Court of Human Rights' decision on the right to hope. Even those sentenced to life imprisonment must be able to think that they can be released one day. I see a general amnesty as an urgent need. Especially at a time when human rights violations have reached their peak, it is definitely beneficial to consider and discuss the limits, scope, validity date of a general amnesty, and the exclusion of certain crimes from its scope. Those who were dismissed by the decree are experiencing great suffering. I see that people who have been acquitted, even among my closest ones, are unable to perform their duties today. In this context, certain regulations can be made that we can accept for the process, provided that they remain within the framework of the law.