Addressing the inauguration of the new session of the Turkish Parliament in the capital, Ankara, on Tuesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan lashed out at Israel.
“Israel committed all crimes against humanity, from ethnic cleansing to bombing the schools, recklessly and repeatedly,” he said, while he slammed support for Israel from the international community.
“Israel’s terrorism and genocide in Palestine extended to Lebanon. Invading forces announced their ground incursion into Lebanon. Israel attempts to provoke regional countries to the ring of fire it created while continuing its genocide in Gaza. Israel, which massacred 42,000 people in Gaza and began new massacres in Lebanon, is not having a necessary reaction from the world,” Erdoğan said.
Erdoğan likened Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Nazi Germany’s leader Adolf Hitler again, as he did on several occasions, and he should be “stopped like Hitler was stopped.”
“Despite all the shame (on humanity), some countries continue their support for Israel openly while others indirectly support it by remaining silent (in the face of Israel’s crimes against humanity),” he said.
The president said the Netanyahu administration’s next target may very well be “our lands” after its attacks in Lebanon. “The Israeli administration, which acts upon its delusion of ‘Promised Land,’ will set its sights on “our homeland after Palestine and Lebanon,” he said.
He said Türkiye would do whatever it can to adhere to its stance against Israel, “regardless of the price we may pay.”
“Israel’s aggression targets Türkiye as well. We will use all means at our disposal for our homeland and independence,” he said. He also reaffirmed Türkiye’s support for “Lebanese brothers.”
“We will support them with all means possible,” he added.
‘Expired’ constitution
Erdoğan also touched upon the issue of the new constitution he has repeatedly championed. The president told lawmakers that the 1982 Constitution in force has “expired.” “The current Constitution was forced upon our nation under the shadow of guns after the Sept. 12 coup. More than 20 amendments implemented in the Constitution demonstrate that the nation is not satisfied with it. Accomplishing our greater goals is possible with a new civilian constitution. The AK Party and the People’s Alliance meticulously work on the matter. We don’t turn our back on ideas over a new constitution. We respect every idea. Our basic principle is having a reconciling platform, not a polarizing one, to focus on freedoms, not bans. The new constitution should not divide the state and the nation; rather, it should unite both,” he said.
The president affirmed his faith in Parliament to work on a new constitution and invited “all segments of the society” to contribute to drafting the new civilian constitution.
The government has been pushing to overhaul Türkiye’s Constitution for over a decade now, which was enforced in 1982 following a military coup that led to the detention of hundreds of thousands of people along with mass trials, torture and executions, which still represents a dark period in Turkish political history.
The president’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has a comprehensive draft prepared by a scientific council during the pandemic, which it’s hoping to submit to Parliament. AK Party ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) also has a constitutional draft including over 100 articles. Before the summer recess, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş oversaw talks between political parties on a constitutional overhaul and has visited representatives of all parties at Parliament since January to discuss a new constitution. He has said the general consensus is positive toward a new constitution, but the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) “still remains far from the table.”
At least 400 lawmakers must ratify a new constitution draft in Parliament. Anything over 360 votes would allow a referendum, allowing the people to decide. The People’s Alliance, featuring the MHP, doesn’t have the parliamentary majority, but insiders have alleged the bloc could make new moves to persuade the opposition, including changes to the current presidential system.
Since its founding, the modern Turkish state has been governed under four constitutions, with the first adopted in 1921, changing in 1924 and 1961 before the Constitution of 1982 was implemented. The document has undergone amendments over the years to keep up with global and regional geopolitical conjectures. The most notable changes were introduced via referendums in 2010 by enabling the trialing of the 1980 coup plotters in civil courts and in 2017 by replacing the parliamentary system with an executive presidency.
The AK Party attempted an overhaul in 2007 when it employed a commission to produce a draft, but it was shelved upon heated criticism from the opposition. Since then, the party has been working on “stronger” material. Its proposed changes focused on freedom, the right to security, the right to a fair trial, freedom of speech and the rights of women and people with disabilities. The party said it would host public gatherings to take suggestions from ordinary citizens on new fundamental laws and launch a workshop once the legislative term begins to discuss a road map to a new constitution with the participation of academicians and legal experts.
