The response from the Chairman of the Interior Affairs Committee of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Soylu, has arrived regarding the green passport requests that were rejected for the village heads.

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President of the Federation of All Istanbul Muhtar Associations, Selami Aykut, was a guest of the host Abdurrahman Yazıcı on Haberler.com. In the program where many issues concerning muhtars were discussed, Selami Aykut expressed that the connection between citizens and muhtars has been severed after the implementation of the Address-Based Population Registration System.

"THE CONNECTION BETWEEN MUHTAR AND CITIZEN HAS BEEN SEVERED"

"The muhtarlık institution, which represents the state on one side and the nation on the other, is an office that strives to be the representative of the state within the neighborhood and village. After the introduction of the 5490 address-based registration system, muhtars began to be transferred from being a point of contact to citizens, as address registrations are now being made through e-government at population directorates. In other words, registrations are done online. After the address-based registration system was introduced, people's connection with muhtars was severed. Muhtars are a structure that ensures public order within the neighborhood and village."

"THE NECESSARY ACTIONS REGARDING THE FAMILY IN IZMIR HAVE BEEN TAKEN"

Host Abdurrahman Yazıcı asked Selami Aykut about the role of the muhtar in the incident where 5 children lost their lives in a house fire in Izmir, and whether there was anything that could be done to prevent such a tragedy. Aykut stated, "We are performing a duty with a budget less than that of the lowest unit of our state, trying to serve our neighborhood with a minimum wage. The muhtarlık institution provided assistance to this family in Izmir and was the authority that continuously informed the relevant authorities about the family's situation. A request was made to Social Services to take the children from the family. Our muhtars solve most of these types of incidents in the neighborhood without advertising it," he evaluated.

RESPONSE TO SOYLU FROM MUHTARS WHOSE GREEN PASSPORT REQUESTS WERE REJECTED

Host Abdurrahman Yazıcı reminded the statement of the Chairman of the Interior Affairs Commission of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Süleyman Soylu, regarding the unnecessary issuance of green passports to muhtars. President of the Federation of All Istanbul Muhtar Associations, Selami Aykut, said: "We have occasionally made requests through official correspondence. Normally, when our muhtars go abroad for a program, they had the opportunity to be sent with a gray passport. As the muhtarlık institution, which is the first level of local government, we have always expressed that muhtars who serve locally, directly interact with people, should be included in programs and visits abroad related to local governance. We at least requested that muhtars who have completed their duties without issues for three terms be granted the right to a green passport. We do not have a request like 'let a green passport be given to a newly elected muhtar.'

WHAT DID SOYLU SAY?

Chairman of the Interior Affairs Commission of the Turkish Grand National Assembly and AK Party Istanbul Deputy Süleyman Soylu answered the questions of the deputies regarding the draft law on the Amendment of the Law on Internal Affairs Officers and Some Laws and the Decree Law No. 375, which is currently being discussed in the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Soylu stated that they have made significant improvements regarding the personal rights of muhtars, equalizing their salaries with the minimum wage, and noted that previously social security premiums were not paid, but with the regulation they made, they started to pay social security premiums as well.

"IF WE EXCEED THE LIMIT, TURKEY MAY FACE PROBLEMS"

Süleyman Soylu made the following evaluations in his statements: "The green passport should be considered more as an opportunity to establish connections with other countries in favor of our country, from diplomats to exporters, to traders. Of course, there is a right that has been previously granted to public servants, but muhtars currently do not have a necessity or obligation to travel abroad frequently or to be abroad with their officials. There is also another thing that we all know, the demand for this green passport is clear, more precisely, the amount allocated to Turkey is clear, and where it will be used is clear; the moment you exceed this limit, Turkey may face a green passport problem, and therefore none of us would desire or want this. In addition, of course, our muhtars have very significant contributions. They will continue to try to maintain these contributions in their neighborhoods."