"Let Article 3 be amended," he said, and the reactions came one after another: "If this state collapses, we will all be buried beneath it."

The statements made by the President of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Numan Kurtulmuş, two days ago regarding the new constitution have once again become a topic of discussion. In that speech, Kurtulmuş said, "The main thing in the Constitution is to express the needs of the nation. For example, the phrase 'The integrity of the state with its territory and nation is indivisible' in the Constitution is correct; however, from this perspective, it needs to be changed. Because the state does not have a territory, nor does it have a nation. This text should be expressed as 'The integrity of the nation with its state and territory is indivisible.' The new constitution must eliminate privileges and exceptions. Privileges and exceptions are the greatest enemies of democracies," he said. Kurtulmuş's statement received backlash.

Kurtulmuş emphasized in his speech at the Gazi University 2024-2025 Academic Year Opening Ceremony that one of Turkey's important issues in the upcoming period is to create a new constitution, using the following expressions:

"THE STATE DOES NOT HAVE A TERRITORY OR A NATION"

"We are talking about the structure of a state that will last until the Day of Judgment. The essence of this state is the nation. The state apparatus is a mechanism established to manage the affairs of the nation well. In this context, the main thing in the Constitution is to express the needs of the nation. For example, the phrase 'The integrity of the state with its territory and nation is indivisible,' which may seem very ordinary, is correct, but from this perspective, it needs to be changed. Because the state does not have a territory, nor does it have a nation. This text should be expressed as 'The integrity of the nation with its state and territory is indivisible.' The new constitution must eliminate privileges and exceptions. Privileges and exceptions are the greatest enemies of democracies. Privileges and exceptions mean transferring the power of the public to elite groups or certain advantaged groups. Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate exceptions and privileges during this constitution-making process."

"IT IS CLEAR THAT THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF DIFFERENT IDEOLOGIES IN TURKEY"

Emphasizing that the Constitution must be freed from the ideologies of the coup plotters, TBMM President Kurtulmuş stated, "An important issue regarding how the new constitution will be made is the relationship between the constitution and ideology. Unfortunately, both the 1961 and 1982 Constitutions in Turkey have been presented with ideological stances, and ideology has somehow been embedded in the constitution. It is clear that there are hundreds of different ideologies in Turkey. Which ideology will we write into it? The constitution must be written in a way that is free from ideology, responds to the needs and demands of the people, and preserves national unity and solidarity," he said.

"IF THIS STATE COLLAPSES, WE WILL ALL BE BURIED UNDER IT"

Reactions to TBMM President Kurtulmuş's statements came one after another. Ümit Özdağ from the Victory Party said, "It seems they will divide us gradually. Numan Kurtulmuş is playing with words. The truth is, 'The integrity of the Turkish state with its territory and nation is indivisible,'" he said. Özdağ continued his statement: "The state consists of a supreme authority, a nation, and a territory. All states are described this way in legal textbooks. That’s why those who wrote it wrote it correctly. Of course, the aim is to propose innocent changes in the first three articles and then completely eliminate its content. If this state collapses, we will all be buried under it. However, those who govern and destroy will remain."

"WHAT PART OF THIS DISTURBED YOU?"

Cemal Enginyurt, Deputy Chairman of the Democratic Party, reacted to Kurtulmuş with the following statements: "Look, did you see! There is a writing error in Article 3 of the Constitution, and it needs to be changed. Article 3 states: 'The integrity of the Turkish state with its territory and nation is indivisible.' Numan, my friend! What part of this disturbed you? There is no writing error; there is an instruction coming from the Palace. The first four articles cannot be changed."

It was observed that many users on social media reacted to the statements of TBMM President Numan Kurtulmuş, which became a topic of discussion two days ago.