06.11.2025 21:50
President Erdoğan responded from the podium to Özgür Özel's remarks in Ümraniye. Erdoğan stated, "Yesterday, I followed the delusions of the leader of the main opposition party with embarrassment, both for his own party and for our country's politics. It is unclear whether the leader of Turkey's second-largest party is a malfunctioning insult machine. Turkey does not deserve such a tone."
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at the Library 5.0 and Human-Centered Digital Transformation International Conference held at the Beştepe National Library.
Starting his speech by thanking the participants, President Erdoğan greeted representatives of the science, culture, and arts community as well as the youth. Erdoğan stated, "I am very pleased to host you at our National Library on the occasion of the Library 5.0 and Human-Centered Digital Transformation International Conference."
"WE HAVE A 1300-YEAR-OLD TRADITION IN LIBRARIANSHIP"
Erdoğan emphasized that the first command of Islamic civilization is "read," highlighting the deep-rooted tradition in librarianship. "From the Umayyads to the Ottomans, and from there to our Republic, we have a significant accumulation in this field. For centuries, books and scholars have always been at the center of the cities we have built." he stated.
The President reminded that many structures, from the Bayt al-Hikma in Damascus to the Süleymaniye Library in Istanbul, have been centers of knowledge and wisdom. "Scientists from Europe studied in these centers for centuries and drew inspiration from this accumulation in establishing universities and libraries in their own countries." he said.
"WE GREW STRONG WHEN WE VALUED KNOWLEDGE"
Erdoğan expressed that the value given to knowledge throughout history is directly proportional to the development of the nation, stating, "Whenever we embraced knowledge and books, we achieved our greatest successes. Whenever we distanced ourselves, we regressed." he said.
Sharing an incident between Yavuz Sultan Selim and Kemal Paşazade, the President said, "This example shows how esteemed knowledge and scholars are in our history."
"LIBRARIES WERE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC"
Noting that independent libraries increased from the 17th century onwards, Erdoğan stated that the Köprülü, Atıf Efendi, Ragıp Paşa, Nuru Osmaniye, and Hamidiye libraries were at the service of the public. However, he expressed that this heritage was damaged during the single-party period, saying, "During those years, our libraries turned into mere piles of bricks, and the younger generations were severed from their roots."
"WE BROUGHT OUR LIBRARIES TO WORLD STANDARDS"
Erdoğan stated that they revitalized this heritage as the Presidency:
"Our National Library, which we opened five years ago, has become the third largest library in the world with over 5 million printed works and more than 141 million digital resources. Today, we have reached 8.5 million visitors. The intense interest of our youth makes us proud."
Recalling that free soup, drinks, and cake are offered to students at the National Library, Erdoğan said, "In the first 8 months of this year, we provided nearly 6 million servings."
"RAMI LIBRARY AND MANUSCRIPT RESTORATION"
President Erdoğan noted that the recently opened Rami Library has become a living center with its cultural and artistic activities, stating, "This year, 40,000 works were identified and 28,000 works were cleaned in the Book Hospital, which is the largest manuscript restoration laboratory in the world."
He also recalled the destruction of rare works at Istanbul University during the February 28 period, saying, "We protected these works and made them available to readers again."
"20 MILLION RESOURCES MADE ACCESSIBLE WITH THE DIGITAL LIBRARY PROJECT"
Erdoğan stated that they have taken significant steps in digitization:
"We digitized 457,000 works in the collection of the Manuscript Works Institution. With our National Digital Library project, more than 20 million resources can be accessed from the access stations established in 69 public libraries."
"TURKEY DOES NOT DESERVE SUCH A POLITICAL STYLE"
At the end of his speech, Erdoğan responded to the words of CHP leader Özgür Özel in Ümraniye, saying, "Dear friends, I would not want to bring this up in front of distinguished guests like you. However, as politicians, we need to protect the reputation of the political institution against attacks. Yesterday, I followed the delusions of the leader of the main opposition party with shame, both for his own party and for our country's politics. Is the one speaking the leader of Turkey's second-largest party, or a malfunctioning insult machine? Unfortunately, it is not clear. Turkey does not deserve such a political style, such a vulgarity. On the other hand, we all know very well: When the mind is impoverished, the intellect becomes arrogant, and the tongue runs wild. There is, look, I say this with real sadness, a wretched person whose connection between his mind and tongue is completely severed, who does not hear what comes out of his mouth. This person is becoming increasingly aggressive with the lies he tells every other day, the slanders he throws at anyone in front of him, and the insults he hurls in the squares. As the corruption of the criminal organization that has wrapped around local governments is revealed, this person panics, becomes ugly, and loses control completely. We certainly will not condemn our nation to this increasingly low and unpleasant language, these toxic discourses that infect politics. Yesterday, both our deputy chairman and party spokesperson, as well as my other friends, gave this person the response he deserved without lowering themselves to his level. My advice to him is, we spoke little, let him understand a lot."