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The youth branch of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) hosted its chair, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, at an event to wrap up its Strategy and Consultation Camp on Wednesday. The occasion was an opportunity for Erdoğan to express his confidence in the young cadres of one of Türkiye’s youngest parties, which will mark its 24th anniversary on Thursday.
As he took the stage in the company of “Endamın Yeter,” a song by Anatolian rock singer Kıraç, Erdoğan proved his “posture” was sufficient for admiration as the song’s title implied, receiving a standing ovation from the audience. The praise was mutual, though, as the president extended his ”most heartfelt greetings to AK Party youth who integrated themselves with their history, nation, country, stage, flag and legacy of ancestors.” He said the camp provided valuable information to the party about the expectations and concerns of the youth, as well as their ambitions, citing an assessment of field studies participated in by 100,000 youth.
Erdoğan said, “’AK’ youth will not be a disappointment for millions clinging to their hopes for future generations.
“You will, God willing, be an example to world youth. You should be a uniting force,” he said.
The president said the youth branch of the AK Party was Türkiye’s “most organized, largest, most active youth network.”
“In politics, the destination for the youth has always been the AK Party for the past 24 years. We received support from more than half of the young population who voted for the first time in the 2023 elections. Their support helped us to defeat ‘democrat uncle of the youth,” he said, in reference to Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, former chair of main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), the 76-year-old candidate of six-party opposition bloc who sought to garner votes of young voters with a campaign where he is promoted as a candidate offering vague freedoms and new rights for the youth.
The president pointed out that the AK Party had admitted 130,000 new members in the past three months and signaled that more people would join on Thursday during the AK Party anniversary event, amid rumors that some mayors would also join the party.
“As the Youth Branches, with over 1 million members, we are one of the world’s largest grassroots youth movements, not just in our country. Despite all the smear campaigns and perception management efforts, we continue to expand. With new members, our family is growing and getting stronger. We continue to inspire confidence in friends and fear in our rivals,” he said.
“You will be the ones to unite Türkiye with its century-old goals. God willing, you will once again be the guarantee of peace and stability in our region. Because this youth is the same youth that the late Mehmet Akif Ersoy described a century ago when he said, ‘I spoke of the generation of Asım – what a generation indeed.’ They did not let their honor be trampled, and they never will,” he said, quoting the author of Türkiye’s national anthem.
“You are the guarantee of both our country’s and our party’s strong future. You are the saplings we’ve planted in this soil with love, never forget that. You are not just our hope, but also the source of strength for millions of the oppressed around the world who never forget Türkiye in their prayers,” he said.
“I see this youth here. In your shining eyes, I see the knowledge of Hoca Ahmet Yesevi, the loving language of Yunus Emre, the fighting spirit of Ahi Evran, the depth of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi, the wisdom of Hacı Bayram-ı Veli, the tolerance of Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli, the brotherhood consciousness of Idris-i Bitlisi, and the profound wisdom of Fakih Tayran that still nourishes hearts. I deeply value your awareness of this: walking this sacred path with you, sharing in your excitement and being your companion in this cause is a great honor for me personally,” he said.
“I take pride in running toward the same horizon with you, my young friends. I wholeheartedly believe that AK Party youth will never let us down. I trust you. I firmly believe that you will protect the nation’s trust and raise the flag we hand over to you even higher,” he said.
“When we look at history, we see that the greatest revolutions were either made by young people or with young people. When the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) began his 23-year struggle of preaching by Allah’s command, there were no elders around him; it was the youth. Tariq ibn Ziyad opened the gates of Europe before he even turned 30. Tuğrul Bey founded the Great Seljuk Empire at the age of 21. Suleiman Shah, son of Kutalmış, recaptured Iznik from the Byzantines when he was only 30. Ibn Sina (Avicenna) was regarded as one of the greatest scholars of medicine and philosophy of his time at just 19. Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror took Istanbul when he was only 21. You are the age at which Fatih conquered Istanbul,” Erdoğan said, quoting a famous verse from a poem by Turkish poet Arif Nihat Asya.
“Young people, this is how we see you. This is how our nation sees you. As AK Party members, we are not only part of a great nation, but also soldiers of a great organization. Men and women, young and old, we are all part of a movement devoted to the nation, to the country, to the ummah, and humanity,” he concluded.
