The Çukurca veteran who made a mark on the commission! He took his prosthetic eye in his hand and spoke.

20.08.2025 02:52

During the 4th meeting of the Process Commission, associations of martyrs' relatives and veteran families were heard. Lokman Aylar, the President of the Turkish Veterans and Martyrs Families Foundation, who was injured in Çukurca in 1996, took out his prosthetic eye and said, "Look, I have lived with one eye for 30 years. We live in a country for which we have paid the price. We stand by the process. It is our duty to leave a happy and peaceful Turkey for our children and youth."

The National Solidarity, Brotherhood, and Democracy Commission held its fourth meeting. In the meeting, Minister of Family and Social Services Göktaş and representatives of civil society organizations spoke.

First, Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş delivered a speech. Minister Göktaş stated that they have always been brothers shoulder to shoulder and heart to heart, saying, "Brotherhood is a responsibility beyond being just a feeling. 'A Turkey without terrorism' is a vision to build a strong and prosperous Turkey where peace and trust prevail. This vision can only be achieved through the determination to continue solidarity and democracy-based efforts together. At this point, our responsibility is to work diligently towards this vision step by step in line with common goals. This process requires a multi-faceted and multi-layered strategy," he said.

"THE RIGHTS WE PROVIDE ARE NEVER A RETURN FOR THEIR SACRIFICES"

Göktaş continued his remarks: "When determining our national policies and strategies, we take the common conscience and values of our nation as our compass. By establishing principles, procedures, and standards for the activities carried out by everyone from our public institutions to civil society organizations, we are establishing a common understanding of service. Ensuring the priority employment of our martyrs' and veterans' relatives, supporting the education of the children of martyrs and veterans with all available means is not just a duty for us, but an honorable debt of loyalty. We are taking steps to strengthen communication and solidarity among them. We are providing support to our veterans in terms of meeting their medical needs, as well as economic, social, and cultural aspects. Undoubtedly, the rights we provide to the relatives of martyrs and veterans as a Ministry are never a return for their sacrifices. We are trying to support them within the framework of our state's capabilities and to ease their difficulties.

We visit the families of martyrs and veterans at their homes and workplaces at every opportunity, providing our support without delay when needed. We are carrying out activities that will empower them not only materially but also spiritually and psychosocially. For this purpose, we have conducted a total of 803,367 visits to date, including 83,380 visits this year. Although we may not have the power to alleviate the pain of losing a child, a spouse, or a father, as a state, we continue to stand by them at all times. In every meeting, we witness once again the steadfastness, dignified resilience, and hearts shaped by love for the homeland of the families of martyrs.

"WE HAVE EXPANDED THE EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR FOR THE RELATIVES OF MARTYRS, VETERANS, AND VETERAN RELATIVES"

On the other hand, with the regulations we have made in the last 23 years, we have expanded the employment rights in the public sector for the relatives of martyrs, veterans, and veteran relatives. In 2012, we doubled this right granted to the relatives of those who were martyred in the fight against terrorism. We provided two employment rights to the relatives of security personnel who lost their lives from the Turkish Armed Forces and the Police Organization, and one employment right to those who became disabled. In addition, we granted a right to those who are duty disabled in other public institutions where there is no employment right. Furthermore, in 2013, we also provided an employment opportunity for civilian citizens who lost their lives or became disabled due to terrorist acts. From the first appointment made in 1996 until 2002, 6,315 people were appointed to public institutions. With our efforts to expand the opportunities to benefit from employment rights, we have increased this number to 51,317 today. Additionally, we have implemented a regulation that ensures those injured in the fight against terrorism, but not considered disabled according to the relevant legislation, are prioritized for employment by İŞKUR.

In 2014, we initiated the right to free travel for the relatives of martyrs, veterans, veteran relatives, and duty disabled individuals. Today, they can benefit from free transportation in urban, intercity land, sea, and rail transport. This year, we have delivered travel cards to a total of 248,731 people, including 6,925 this year, to enable them to benefit from transportation for free. Additionally, last year, we provided a similar collaboration with AJet to the one we had with Turkish Airlines, offering a 50% discount on air travel.

HE HELD HIS PROSTHETIC EYE IN HIS HAND AND SPOKE: WE LIVE IN THE COUNTRY WE PAID THE PRICE FOR

Lokman Aylar, President of the Turkey Veterans and Martyrs Families Foundation, stated that he was injured in his eye and kidney in Hakkari Çukurca in 1996 and lost these organs, and he took out his prosthetic eye and said, "Look, I lived with one eye for 30 years. Friends, I held it in my hand. Why? For this homeland, for the flag, for you, for the nation. We live in the country we paid the price for. We know very well what we say and what we can say. We fully support our General President and our valuable individuals in the process. We are with the process, and we will stand by it. Because a Turkey without terrorism is our administration. It is our debt to leave a happy and peaceful Turkey to our children and youth," he said.

"THE WORDS OF OUR PRESIDENT HAVE SOOTHED HEARTS"

Mustafa Işık, President of the Turkey War Disabled Veterans, Martyrs, Widows, and Orphans Association, reminded that there are martyr families who want to leave their medals and prosthetics to the political parties supporting the process, saying, "We tried to calm them down and make the environment more moderate. Immediately after, our President's statement, 'Our martyr families and veterans should rest assured. We have not done and will not do anything to upset or hurt them,' has soothed hearts and has been seen as a guarantee by us. Throughout the months of ongoing discussions, we have been waiting for the process to mature, directing our stance towards our state and our President," he stated.

Işık pointed out that portraying the terrorist leader as the sole representative of the Kurds could harm brotherhood, stating, "As a result of the fight against terrorism that our state is carrying out with great determination and resolve, the terrorist organization PKK has been forced to lay down its arms, but I emphasize that as long as the PKK, despite being an organization, does not lay down its arms and does not cease its terrorist activities, the mere act of the PKK laying down its arms will have no meaning. We are also aware that our country needs to completely free itself from the shackles of terrorism and manage its energy towards defense, education, and the welfare of our citizens, taking into account the developments happening in the world and the threats posed to us, especially by the army. We, as the families of martyrs and veterans, recognize that we are in a phase where justice and sincerity based on National Unity and Solidarity are needed more than ever.

We are ready to make every sacrifice for the families of martyrs and the newspapers on this path. However, political calculations should not come before national interests," he said.