Dr. Fatih Erbakan, Chairman of the Welfare Party, made striking statements about the increasing number of child and woman murders, social dissolution, digital threats and individual armament. Emphasizing “morality and spirituality first”, Erbakan called for a comprehensive change from education to media, from family structure to security policies.
In a program on Lider TV with Ayşegül Şengül, Erbakan stated that the recent incidents of violence against children and women have caused deep wounds in the society and pointed out that these developments are not isolated, but the result of structural problems.
‘RAISING A GENERATION THAT IS NOT MATERIALISTIC BUT SPIRITUALISTIC IS VERY IMPORTANT’
Expressing his condolences to the citizens, students and the education community who lost their lives, Erbakan said that the events that took place contained serious warnings about the general course of society:
“Morality and spirituality first, that is, it is very important to raise a generation that is not materialistic but spiritualistic. It is very important to raise a generation that prioritizes the hereafter, not the world. And at the same time, it is extremely important to have an education system with a curriculum based on self-training. In other words, from the age of 11-12, which is the age when a young person is responsible for religion, the age when he starts to be responsible. From this age, it is important that he grows up with the awareness of halal and haram, that he knows that the punishment for killing an innocent person, God forbid, will be hell, and that he grows up with the awareness of compassion for this creation. In other words, it is extremely important for him to know that he is obliged to show this compassion to all creatures, human beings, living creatures, every human being, Muslim or non-Muslim.”
‘WE MUST ALSO PROTECT OUR SPIRITUAL HOMELAND’
“As the Welfare Party again, we always say this, we have a discourse called spiritual homeland. We need to protect our spiritual homeland. Yes, the blue homeland is very important, the sky is very important. Our forests, our greens, our greenery, our green homeland is very important. It is very important to protect and preserve our terrestrial homeland, our land. But the spiritual homeland is also very important. Because we always say that if you lose a land, God forbid, you can regain that land by fighting and shedding your blood. If you lose money, as a country, as a nation, you can earn that money again by working and shedding sweat. But if you lose a generation, it is very difficult, even impossible, to regain it. In this respect, of course, parents have very important duties. But it is of utmost importance that the education and curriculum should prioritize the hereafter and raise generations that are spiritual instead of materialistic, and that they should raise generations based on self-cultivation instead of bondage to the ego.”
‘TV SHOWS AND GAMES NORMALIZE VIOLENCE’
Stating that such incidents cannot be explained only by security measures, Erbakan said that the normalization of violence in TV series and digital content, the glorification of mafia culture and publications that make criminal elements look attractive have negative effects on young people:
“It is extremely important that TV shows, especially violent TV series, TV programs, unfortunately TV series that show mafia leaders almost like heroes, TV series that normalize killing people and show that mafia-like people who live in this way, who kill people, live in luxury and pomp and have very good opportunities, it is really important that the programs are inspected by RTÜK and necessary measures are taken.”
SUPPORT FOR SOCIAL MEDIA BAN
“Along with this, of course, social media is very important. The introduction of a ban on social media under the age of 15-16, although certain circles express this as a restriction of freedom, this really needs to be done. The ruling wing, the People's Alliance side brought such a law proposal to parliament. We see examples of this in Australia, France and many other countries. Indeed, it is a great danger, a great threat for 12, 13, 14, 15-year-old children to access this content on social media. Lastly, I would like to say that necessary measures need to be taken in terms of armament. Although not as much as in the US, this social armament and individual armament has unfortunately become widespread in our country as well.”
DRUG SWAMP MUST BE DRAINED
Stating that drug use is one of the most important factors threatening the social structure, Erbakan said that substance addiction has devastating effects on individuals and added: “We don't know whether he was under the influence of drugs or not, but these substances have very serious negative effects. In recent times, unfortunately, we have encountered cases of people who murdered their family members, even their mothers and fathers, and did so under the influence of drugs. At this point, of course, it is extremely important to fight against the barons, to carry out an effective struggle at all costs with the people at the head of this business who bring drugs into Turkey and trade them.”.
‘DEATH PENALTY SHOULD BE PUT ON THE AGENDA AGAIN’
Regarding the Gülistan Doku investigation, Erbakan stated that the deterrence against crimes committed against women and innocent people should be increased and that putting the death penalty back on the agenda is an important topic:
“Of course, it is of utmost importance that the murder of Gülistan Doku and the incident in Tunceli are investigated and the perpetrators are uncovered, no matter who they are, just as the current investigation has accelerated in the new period. In other words, it is alleged that the son of the governor was involved. No matter whoever is involved in such an incident, no matter what his/her authority is, he/she must be dealt with and the perpetrators must be revealed. As the Welfare Party, we have been expressing for a long time that the death penalty should be put back on the agenda as a deterrent measure, especially in relation to these incidents of violence and murder against women and innocent people. We think that even if the death penalty is at least in force, even if its implementation is very difficult and subject to very serious conditions, it will have a significant deterrent effect.”
EARLY ELECTION PLAN
Erbakan, who also made evaluations regarding the discussions on midterm and early elections, claimed that there was a demand from citizens for early elections and called for early elections in the fall of 2026 or spring of 2027:
“Of course, today, even the surveys of polling firms, which we can now characterize as close to the government, reveal that there is a demand for early elections by more than 60 percent, some by 70 percent, and that the nation has such a desire. For this reason, we always express that this request of the nation should be heeded and an early election should be held in the fall of 2026 or spring of 2027. And as the Yeniden Refah Partisi, we try to keep our organizations alive and make preparations every Sunday as if the election will be held this Sunday.’
“Of course, what Mr. Özel said about the by-election here is Article 79 of the constitution. The constitution says that a by-election is held for the vacant parliamentary seats 2.5 years after the election and more than a year before the next election, meaning the period we are currently in. At the moment, there is a shortage of 8 deputies in the parliament and the constitution states that a by-election should be held as a requirement of the constitution. They have also consulted with the lawyers and experts. They express such an opinion as a party. Of course, rather than by-elections, we should of course abide by the constitution. We are a party coming from the National Vision tradition. We always respect the law. Even when the Welfare Party was shut down, the restraint and law-abiding stance of Mr. Erbakan is always talked about everywhere. We respect the constitution. If there is a by-election, we will not say no to that either. But we also believe that an early election should be held in the fall of 2026 or the spring of 2027. Because the economic conditions and the demand of the nation make us think that such an election is necessary.”
‘WE HAVE NO DAM PROBLEM’
Asked whether they would form an alliance in a possible early election, Erbakan gave the following striking answer:
“Tabii biz Yeniden Refah Partisi olarak Türkiye’nin seçimlerdeki (yerel seçimler) oy oranı bakımından da 3. büyük partisi olduk. %6.98 yani %7’lik bir oy oranına ulaştık. Bu önemli bir çıkıştı ve üye sayısı bakımından da Türkiye’nin 3. büyük partisiyiz. AK Parti ve CHP’nin arkasından 660 bine yakın bir üyeyle hızla 700 bine doğru gidiyoruz. Türkiye’nin 3. büyük partisiyiz. Biz yerel seçimlerde %7 oy aldığımızda 520 bin üyemiz vardı. 520 bin üyeyle %7 oy aldığımıza göre 660 bin üyeyle bunun çok daha üzerinde bir oy alacağımıza inanıyoruz, ifade edebilirim. Yani %10 seviyesinde bir oyumuz olduğuna gerçekten de inanıyorum. Burada televizyonda olduğum için söylemiyorum. Çünkü 520 bin üyeyle %7 oy alan, yani üye sayısının hemen hemen 6 katı oy aldık.”
‘IT IS POSSIBLE TO GET AROUND 10 PERCENT OF THE VOTE’
“Şimdi de 660 bini 6 ile çarparsanız dediğim gibi %10 civarında bir oy almamız son derece mümkün. Dolayısıyla bir ittifak arayışı içinde olan bir parti durumunda değiliz. Ancak ittifaklara da kapımızı kapatmıyoruz. Yine de biz %10’da olsak, %15’de olsak bir sinerji oluşması ve daha güçlü bir blok ortaya konulması, belki ortak bir cumhurbaşkanı adayıyla o gösterilecek cumhurbaşkanı adayının daha da güçlü bir şekilde ortaya çıkması bakımından bu saydığınız partilerle bir ittifakın söz konusu olabileceğini de ifade ediyoruz. Ama bu bizim dediğim gibi baraj endişemizden dolayı kaynaklanan bir şey değil. Ama buna rağmen de Saadet Partisi ile de Sayın Genel Başkanı ile de Genel Başkan Yardımcıları düzeyinde de görüşmelerimiz olduğu halen de devam ediyor. Seçime yakın dönemde bunların daha da netleşeceğini ve şekilleneceğini ifade edebilirim.”