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The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) concludes its “Century of Türkiye” meetings across the nation with the stark awareness that the Turkish people’s main concerns right now are the economy, the fight against terrorism, justice and Gaza.
The meetings, which have been held in 80 provinces, will be finalized with the latest stop Istanbul on Thursday. A delegation of 300 people, deputies and AK Party central board members will come together with the people in Istanbul’s 39 districts.
Following this latest meeting, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will hold a speech at the Haliç Congress Center on Friday.
“Century of Türkiye” is an ambitious plan consisting of reforms the party plans to implement in every field, from justice to energy independence, and was unveiled by Erdoğan prior to the centenary of the Republic of Türkiye in 2023.
As a result of the Century of Türkiye meetings, AK Party officials concluded that the main agenda of the people is justice, terrorism, economy and ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza.
While the Turkish public opinion welcomed Erdoğan’s stance and efforts regarding Gaza, the people demanded concrete sanctions on Israel for its actions by the international community.
Israel has killed nearly 62,200 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The genocidal military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.
The Turkish public and government are major supporters of the Palestinian cause. Türkiye has been a traditional ally to Palestine, but as the Israeli attacks became more brutal, Ankara has become harsher in its criticism in the past year. It has condemned what it calls genocide, halted all trade with Israel and applied to join the genocide case against Israel at the World Court, which Israel rejects.
Another agenda item of the people was the terror-free Türkiye initiative and the ongoing process about it.
The terror-free Türkiye initiative was launched last year by government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) when its leader, Devlet Bahçeli, implied that the government should facilitate access to the terrorist group PKK’s jailed ringleader, Abdullah Öcalan, so that he could call the PKK to lay down arms. Bahçeli’s proposal was endorsed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who had earlier hinted at the initiative with messages of unity between Turks and Kurds. The PKK has long justified its campaign of terrorism as a fight for the rights of Kurds. Both Bahçeli and Erdoğan repeatedly said that ending terrorism and maintaining unity were essential for Türkiye’s “home front” in the face of Israeli aggression in the region, pointing to the fact that Israel may target Türkiye next as part of its expansionist policies. Öcalan responded positively to Bahçeli’s call and urged the PKK to lay down arms. In July, the PKK started the disarmament process with a ceremony in northern Iraq. The complete disarmament of the group is expected to conclude by the end of 2025.
The government and MHP portray the initiative as a process beyond politics and seek wider public support. They managed to include several opposition parties in a parliamentary committee that began work in August to tackle the initiative and prepare a road map for legislators in the next stage.
Meanwhile, it was noted that some citizens at the meetings also expressed their criticisms of the public perception of “impunity” to party delegations. It was also observed that issues such as inadequate punishment of perpetrators and insufficient judicial processes were also raised.
