Former Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Bülent Arınç, CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Democrat Party Chairman Gültekin Uysal, Saadet Party Deputy Chairman Sabri Tekir, former Minister of Culture and Tourism Ertuğrul Günay, Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mansur Yavaş, in the "Again" program organized by the Turkish Democracy Foundation.
UZUN: “WE ARE WATCHING A GREAT DECREASE”
President of the Turkish Democracy Foundation Salih Uzun, who made the opening speech of the program, said that they invited the executives of AKP and MHP as well as the opposition, to the meeting.
"Since the place of the parliament in the system is our main agenda, I also invited the presidents of the previous term parliament. It is to defend the rights of those outside you, who are rivals when appropriate. In the short run, this may seem risky, but in the long run, proponents of this type of policy will certainly gain. The most important impasse of democracy in Turkey today is the concentration of forces in one center. The understanding that detaches democracy from its meaning, context and essence is the understanding that accepts it as based only on the principle of majority rule. This understanding is flawed. Majority rule is a part of democracy and indispensable. But it is the context of fundamental rights and freedoms that gives spirit to democracy. We will look at it from the perspective of democracy. We are witnessing a great decay and collapse in Turkey in three areas that are vital for democratic functioning. One of them is the civil society that we are in, the other is academia and the third is the media," he said.
TEKİR: “WHAT HAPPENED TODAY HAS HAPPENED IN THE PAST”
Sabri Tekir, Deputy Chairman of Saadet Party, underlined that democracy has a very old history.
"When it is evaluated together with its old past, we see that a significant part of the problems we experience today were also experienced in the past. We see that the issues that are the subject of discussion have always been discussed in the past," he said.
"IT IS NORMAL TO HAVE DIFFERENT THINKERS"
Emphasizing that it is quite natural that there are people with very different cultures among the 84 million people in Turkey, Tekir continued as follows:
"It is perfectly natural to find people with very different points of view. It is quite natural that there are those who, having a very different set of knowledge and experience, argue that different alternatives can be found in the management of this country and in solving problems. What is it then? We will harmonize them and evaluate them within themselves; We have to replace such a system. Mankind has not been able to discover any other management style that can bring such a system apart from democracy."
ARINÇ: “THIS IS THE TIME TO SAY THE KING IS NAKED”
Bülent Arınç, the former Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, who criticized the AKP in the program, "There are freshwater fish politicians, without doing anything. His Majesty has journalists. They talk about the clarity of the air and water. It's time to cough and shout. It's time to say the king is naked. God gives glory to the brave ones. My presence here is a participation in celebrating the foundation anniversary of the Turkish Democracy Foundation. The six opposition parties and the alliance they represent are each respected in my sight. I respect your opinions. I don't think like them, but we will have the opportunity to talk about these ideas at a table. Their presence here is a privilege. I just feel sorry for those who are not ready. I say the way they go is not the way," he said.