Speaker of the Parliament Kurtulmuş: We are leaving behind the terrorism issue, half of the first century of our Republic wasted on it.

15.08.2026 22:11

TBMM Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş said, 'We are leaving behind the terrorism issue, half of whose first century we wasted. We are now leaving behind this process that has continued for over 40 years, in which thousands of our people were martyred, tens of thousands of our people died, and villages and cities were destroyed and ravaged. In this country, Turks, Kurds, and people from other ethnic backgrounds will continue on their path together as one, with Allah's permission.'

The closing program of the Bosphorus Diplomacy Forum, organized by the Young Diplomacy Association (GDD) on the Island of Democracy and Freedoms, which began on Monday, August 10, took place with the participation of Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) Numan Kurtulmuş, AK Party Ankara Deputy and Chairman of the TBMM Foreign Affairs Committee Fuat Oktay, and Istanbul Governor Davut Gül. The program began with a recitation from the Holy Quran by young hafiz Muhammed Esed Can.

"WE SEE THAT THE YOUNG DIPLOMACY FORUM WILL BECOME TRADITIONAL FROM NOW ON"

Speaking at the program, TBMM Speaker Kurtulmuş greeted the president, executives, and all participants of the Young Diplomacy Association. Thanking those who held the event on the Island of Democracy and Freedoms, Kurtulmuş said, "We hope that with the work to be carried out on this island from now on, it will be possible to put forward ideas about the future of Turkey and the world and to carry out efforts to prepare the world for a truly strong and bright future. Especially with the final meeting of this 6-day program we are conducting here today, we see that the Young Diplomacy Forum will now become traditional. Hopefully, it will continue from now on, and you will carry your very successful work forward."

"THE PERIOD WHEN AMERICA LED AND THOUGHT IT RULED EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD IS OVER"

Kurtulmuş, noting that this is a difficult period in terms of understanding world politics and the world, stated, "Especially the world system established after World War II has today had almost all of its institutions, all its rules, and even its concepts reduced to rubble and lost their validity. With the system established after the ruins of World War II, the Cold War period that lasted 45 years divided the world into two: on one side, a world around the axis of the Soviet Union, and against it, a bipolar world around the axis of the United States dominated. We remember that in that period, as the name suggests, due to the Cold War, conflicts, tensions, and great struggles between the two sides continued in many countries. One of those countries was Turkey. Especially in that period, Turkey was one of the most unfortunate countries that unfortunately witnessed the cold face of the Cold War. Why do I say this? As a result of the ideological polarization of the Cold War, a right-left divide emerged in Turkey, especially before 1980, and thousands of our young sons were lost in these conflicts. Now, after the 90s, a new world emerged. The symbol of the end of the Cold War was the fall of the Berlin Wall. After 1990, until the summer of 2021, that is, with the images of the United States hastily withdrawing from Afghanistan, where people clung to planes as if falling to the ground, the unipolar world system also collapsed. The period when America led and thought it ruled everywhere in the world is over."

"TURKEY IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT COUNTRIES OF THE NEW WORLD, THE MULTI-CENTERED WORLD"

Drawing attention to the opening of a new era, Kurtulmuş said, "It may not be entirely possible to predict today how this period will unfold and take shape from now on. But we can say this very clearly: no matter how it develops, the most important primary feature of the future world system will be that it is a multipolar, or rather, multi-centered world system. That is, different countries and different regions will come to the forefront in many parts of the world; these countries will be in a great struggle to establish the system of the new world. I say this with assurance: Turkey is one of the most important countries of the new world, the multi-centered world, and with this momentum it has gained, Turkey is at the beginning of an unstoppable rise, God willing. Now, in this multipolar system, the countries that best prepare for the future, that prepare for the future by setting their own agendas rather than the agendas put before them, the youth of those countries, not only the state structure of those countries but also their academia, intellectual circles, and idea-producing centers, that is, the countries that make preparations, will be very influential in the coming race. Thank God, Turkey, with this momentum it has achieved, is at the beginning of an extremely valuable process with its world-class moves standing out in almost every field. With God's permission, your era will be a golden period in which Turkey's unstoppable rise will be experienced."

"WITH ITS PROBLEM-SOLVING, NEGOTIATING DIPLOMACY UNDERSTANDING, TURKEY HAS ALWAYS BEEN ONE OF THE COUNTRIES THAT MAKES POSITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS AT THE TABLE"

Kurtulmuş, stating that Turkey has a negotiating foreign policy approach, said the following: "No matter how difficult the issue ahead is, it is not possible for any issue not to be discussed at the diplomacy table. We have the perception and power of a foreign policy that can bring the most difficult issue to the diplomacy table, discuss and negotiate it, and derive results in Turkey's favor from there. This is true not only for Turkey's issues but also for issues concerning the countries around Turkey. For example, in the issue between Russia and Ukraine, while all Western countries were incapable of solving the problem, here in Istanbul, in March 2022, under the leadership of our President, the two sides were brought together around the same table and began to negotiate. Hopefully, the ongoing conflicts in many regions will also progress seriously towards a solution thanks to this understanding of Turkey."

"TURKEY HAS ONE AXIS, AND THAT IS ITS OWN NATIONAL, LOCAL AXIS; IT IS TURKEY'S AXIS"

Kurtulmuş, stating that another feature of Turkey's foreign policy is that it is an active foreign policy, said, "With an active and multilateral policy, Turkey conducts an active and multilateral foreign policy not only with certain countries and certain circles of the world, but especially in this difficult geography we are in, let us say openly, in the geography where humanity lives most difficultly, where each of the problems is of enormous dimensions. A few weeks ago, Turkey hosted both the parliamentary leaders' summit and the leaders' summits of NATO. Turkey is a NATO member, Turkey is a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Turkey is one of the candidate countries for the European Union, Turkey is a part of the Balkans, Turkey is a part of the Caucasus, Turkey is a country developing its relations with the Turkish world in our wide geography. In other words, when you count them at once, it is a country with relations with many circles, from the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Group to many Gulf Cooperation ones. In other words, Turkey's direction is not turned to just one side. From the beginning, the point that certain circles in Turkey cannot comprehend and sometimes criticize us for is, you know, that Turkey has undergone an axis shift."

"AS TURKEY, WE ARE ALSO PUTTING FORTH A VERY STRONG EFFORT IN THE FIELD OF PARLIAMENTARY DIPLOMACY"

Stating that an important feature of Turkey's foreign policy is that it is principled, Kurtulmuş said, "In such a difficult geography, we do not say one thing behind one door to someone and the exact opposite behind another door to another country. Whatever we say, we say the same thing behind closed doors and we say the same thing in public squares. Thus, this principled stance of ours also, in a way, forces countries that approach many of the world's issues without principles and on a day-to-day basis to align themselves with it. Therefore, by maintaining this principled foreign policy stance, Turkey will also contribute seriously to the resolution of problems. Another important feature of ours is that we pursue a multi-layered foreign policy. We strive to increase Turkey's power with our diplomatic efforts at different layers in many areas of the world, foremost among them being the leadership diplomacy put forth by our President, which is today followed with appreciation and envy by many countries. We continue our contact with all international organizations of which we are a member or with which we cooperate at the highest level. Additionally, as Turkey, we are also putting forth a very strong effort in the field of parliamentary diplomacy. Our Foreign Affairs Committee, our relevant foreign committees, we represent Turkey at the highest level and in the best way possible in all international platforms such as NATO, PACE, and the European Parliament, and we benefit from every opportunity of parliamentary diplomacy," he said.

"WE ARE A COUNTRY THAT EXISTS IN AFRICA, ASIA, THE BALKANS, THE CAUCASUS, AND EUROPE WITH ALL ITS AID ORGANIZATIONS"

Also touching upon Turkey's cultural diplomacy, Kurtulmuş said, "Turkey is one of the rare countries in the world that operates most actively in terms of cultural diplomacy. With Turkey's cultural diplomacy institutions all over the world; TIKA, the Red Crescent, and all its aid organizations, we are a country that exists in Africa, Asia, the Balkans, the Caucasus, and Europe. I can proudly say that each of our cultural diplomacy institutions acts like a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and extends its hand to all nations of the world with the networks they have established in countries. I would like to underscore that we have an extraordinarily strong opportunity in the coming period, which we believe will be Turkey's rising ascent. Another approach in Turkey's foreign policy is our intention to be the address for unification, integration, bringing together, and gathering ourselves together in our vast geography, which has been in a constant process of fragmentation and division since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. We are putting this forth extremely strongly. As you know, after the First World War, the dissolved Ottoman geography was divided and fragmented along two main fault lines within the framework of the imperialists' division plan called Sykes-Picot. One of these is making ethnic differences a means of separation, and the second is turning sectarian and religious conflicts into a cause for division," he stated.

"IT IS TIME TO GATHER AND RECOVER IN THIS GEOGRAPHY; WITH GOD'S PERMISSION, WE ARE LEAVING A CENTURY OF SEPARATION BEHIND"

"Unfortunately, this imperialist plan seriously took hold in our geography," said Kurtulmuş, "Peoples separated from each other by borders were tried to be made enemies of one another. Within the countries that were established as independent, attempts were made to create ethnic and sectarian conflicts. We all know that thousands, tens of thousands, even millions of people were torn from life in the internal conflicts of this Islamic geography. Can any reasonable justification be given for the internal conflict in Sudan? Likewise, in the war lasting over 10 years in Iraq and Syria, was there a reasonable reason for that conflict in the eyes of the peoples? Now it is time to gather and recover in this geography. With God's permission, we are leaving a century of separation behind; we are gathering, recovering, and rising together as a strong region," he stated.

"WE ARE LEAVING BEHIND THE TERROR ISSUE, ON WHICH WE WASTED HALF OF THE FIRST CENTURY OF OUR REPUBLIC"

Addressing the youth, Kurtulmuş said, "Maybe we will not see it, but you, the youth, will see it. With God's permission, you will all see the peoples of this region, Turks, Kurds, Arabs, Persians, Sunnis, Shiites, coming together as one and whole, coming together as solid parts of a single Ummah. You will all struggle in this process. The issue of a Turkey free of terrorism, I assure you, is the first step of this process. In this geography, in our country, we are leaving behind the terror issue on which we wasted about half of the first century of our Republic. We are now leaving behind this process that has continued for over 40 years, in which thousands of our people have been martyred, tens of thousands of our people have been killed, and villages and cities have been destroyed and devastated. In this country, Turks, Kurds, and people from other ethnic backgrounds will continue on their way, with God's permission, as one and together. If there is to be a word among us from now on, this word will not be a word of division, not a word of segregation, not a word of othering, but a word of brotherhood and unity. And thus, not only within Turkey's borders, but also outside Turkey's borders, those beautiful days when Turks, Kurds, Arabs, and all other elements are one and united will be re-established, and a strong region, a region free of terrorism, will be built anew," he said.

"NONE OF THOSE WHO TRIED TO ABOLISH DEMOCRACY ARE REMEMBERED BY NAME TODAY"

Stating that the youth have a bright future in this framework, Kurtulmuş said, "When I look back, I return to your ages. When I return to your ages, we see, thank God, that whatever we saw as a great goal before us back then has all been realized. There are certainly some goals still to be completed. But, to give an example, this island we are on carries the memories of those times when the late Menderes and his friends were imprisoned, later sentenced to death in that courtroom just 50 meters ahead, and unfortunately, their execution was carried out elsewhere; times when democracy was murdered, people's voices were silenced, and people's political will was considered worthless at all. May God have mercy on them. Those who murdered democracy, who stood before the people, who executed this country's elected prime minister and two valuable ministers, those who tried to abolish democracy by standing before this nation—none of their names are remembered today."In this country, the names of all those who have fought for democracy and struggled in the name of the people have been written in history in golden letters and will be remembered until the end of time. In this context, we commemorate the late Menderes and his friends, the late Turgut Özal, and the late Necmettin Erbakan with gratitude and remembrance," he reported.

"THANKS BE TO GOD, TODAY IN TURKEY, EVERYWHERE, BOTH OUR SISTERS WITH HEADSCARVES AND OUR SISTERS WITHOUT HEADSCARVES ARE IN THE SERVICE OF THE PUBLIC"

Kurtulmuş, emphasizing that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has led the nation through the most difficult turns of the democracy struggle in Turkey over the last 25 years by standing before the people and repelling anti-democratic forces, will be remembered with gratitude by the nation until the end of time, continued his remarks as follows: "I am someone who, at a younger age than you, listened several times to the late Necip Fazıl, the master's saying, 'Hagia Sophia will definitely be opened.' While listening to that wish and shouting 'Let the chains be broken, let Hagia Sophia be opened' at the rallies we held in front of Hagia Sophia throughout our lives, we were both praying and making a wish, but at the same time, it wasn't as if we didn't wonder whether it would actually be opened. The opening of Hagia Sophia, one of the symbols of the nation's will and national sovereignty, for worship has been realized. Hagia Sophia will remain open for worship until the end of time. I remember like yesterday how our young brothers and sisters, who experienced those pains during my years as a university faculty member, were turned away from universities because of the headscarf. I remember like yesterday those days when our fellow parliamentarian, our Felicity Party deputy Merve Kavakçı, was not allowed into parliament and was not even allowed to leave her home. Thanks be to God, today in Turkey, everywhere, both our sisters with headscarves and our sisters without headscarves are in the service of the public; they are deputies, prosecutors, judges, governors, district governors, doctors, teachers; in short, they are not subjected to any discrimination. Now one thing remains before us; it is exactly the subject of your meeting. For years, we talked about a just and equitable order. When our President first spoke at the United Nations General Assembly saying 'The world is bigger than five,' those who came there representing many countries of the world were looking at him thinking, 'What is this man saying?' But now, the phrase 'The world is bigger than five' has become a new motto, a new prayer, and a new opportunity for the oppressed nations of the world."

"TURKEY HAS BECOME A GREAT AND POWERFUL COUNTRY"

Stating that young people will see a new world system, led by the United Nations, being rebuilt with its institutions, rules, and all its concepts, Kurtulmuş said, "You will see a world where all people are equal in nature and all countries are equal in sovereignty, not just on paper but in practice, and you will take the lead in its establishment. Turkey has become a great and powerful country. Now your duty is to build a new world. With God's permission, you have the knowledge, experience, strength, and, God willing, the human resources to do this. May God make your path clear. Moreover, you have a great advantage that we did not have. The country is now much stronger. A remarkably strong administration that understands these issues we are talking about is in power in Turkey under the leadership of our President. We have significant support from our people, and Turkey is a capable country that continues on its path by resolving almost all the issues it has set before it one by one," he said.

The program ended with a group family photo and gift presentations.