The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahçeli spoke at the Certificate Ceremony of his party’s Politics and Leadership School.
Drawing attention to the Peace and Democratic Society Process and the messages of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, Bahçeli referred to the commission’s recent visit to Imrali, stating, “The messages of the PKK’s founding leader are reasonable, positive, credible, and clear.”
Bahçeli added, “Unlike many regions that are gasping for breath amid conflict and tension, our country is implementing a peace architecture based on fairness, justice, morality, and reason. Anyone who attempts to stand in the way of this will shoulder a burden they cannot bear in either world.”
Recalling Öcalan’s call and the PKK’s decisions, Bahçeli stated the following: “Peace is not a one-winged bird. The second wing of the bird of peace will hopefully be attached, and everyone will see it fly. While there are those who interpret politics as an arena of competition and conflict, there are also many thinkers who define it as cooperation and solidarity. We are in favor of cooperation. We are on the side of solidarity and mutual support. We must engage in conversation, agreement, empathy, patience, common sense, and focus on closing gaps rather than seeking them out. Tolerance is a democratic value that provides opportunities to understand others and resolve issues through dialogue. We cannot let slip or squander the historic opportunity we have seized in the last century. We turn our backs on utopian views; on extravagant, excessive, and vulgar words. We close our ears to the utmost. And most importantly, we embrace our Kurdish brothers and sisters with longing, affection, and respect.”
“We are in an era in which the clatter of machines has silenced the moral voice of the digital revolution,” said the MHP leader and concluded, “As the founding leader of the PKK said, shouldn’t we abandon not only physical weapons but also weapons in the mental sense?”