New constitution to be best gift to nation on Turkey’s centennial: Erdoğan

ANKARA

A new civilian constitution will be the best present to be given to the Turkish people in the centennial of the republic in 2023, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said, calling on all the political parties to contribute to the making of the new charter in the coming period.

“If possible, a new constitution that will be prepared with the consensus of all parties in parliament will be the best 2023 gift we would give to our nation,” President Erdoğan said in his speech at the start of the legislative year on Oct. 1 in parliament.

Erdoğan, in his lengthy statement, outlined his views on the country’s main political issues, social and economic developments, foreign policy agenda as well as the green revolution his government will pursue in the aftermath of the ratification of the Paris Climate Convention this month.

Recalling that his Justice and Development Party (AKP) is working to draft the new constitution, Erdoğan repeated his calls on the political parties to prepare their own blueprints and contribute to the process. “The ultimate decision belongs to our parliament,” he said, expressing his hope that parliament will move forward to this end.

The Turkish Parliament will play an important role in shaping the global and regional order in the next century, Erdoğan stressed, underlining the necessity of keeping the unity and togetherness of the entire nation in reaching common objectives.

“We should own this vision with all the individuals of our nation by leaving our political lines aside. There is no other Turkey, a homeland, a state or future for any of us. We should never forget that we cannot grow by dividing, we cannot become stronger by dividing. We cannot root our brotherhood by fueling rivalry,” Erdoğan stated.

Turkey cannot continue its progress in democracy and development if its people divide, he said, citing the current state of affairs in many countries who failed to do so. “They [external forces] could not be successful in dragging Turkey into this and they will never be able to,” he said.

‘We resolved Kurdish question’

Erdoğan said his governments have resolved all the aspects of the Kurdish question and they will not allow those who want to abuse this matter. Erdoğan said the continued protests of the mothers whose children were abducted by the PKK have shown the real face of the terror organization and its political affiliations.

He also underlined that Turkey prevented the establishment of two terror corridors in its southern borders and indirectly criticized the United States for supporting the YPG in the fight against ISIL.

Economy is our responsibility

Turkey has been facing multiple challenges in the past eight years and its economy has been impacted from all these, Erdoğan said. “In all these challenges, the responsibility of the economy belongs to us,” he added.

Turkey has paid its debts to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under his government and increased per capita income three times, the president said, informing that the current reserves of the Central Bank have reached $122 billion, responding to the opposition’s longstanding questions about it.

The pandemic has hit the entire global economy but Turkey has become one of the rare countries being able to stand tall against the disruptive impacts of the coronavirus, Erdoğan suggested.

“We are envisaging to end this year with 9 percent growth rate,” he said.

Presidency sends Paris climate deal to parliament

Erdoğan also mentioned his government’s plans to ratify the Paris Climate Convention in October as his office submitted the agreement to parliament on Oct 1.

“The ratification of the Paris convention will the first good news of our green development revolution. We are going to plan and put into practice the following steps accordingly,” he stated.

Turkey’s policy will also be in accordance with the EU’s Green Deal, Erdoğan said, adding that Turkey will continue to increase the proportion of renewable energy sources in the coming period.