CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğluwas the guest of the Diplomacy and Politics Academy organized by Beykent University. The subject of ‘Migration in the War Zone’ was discussed at the event held at the Adem Çelik Conference Hall on the Ayazağa campus of the university. CHP Istanbul Provincial President Canan Kaftancıoğlu, Beykent University Rector Prof. Dr. Murat Ferman, deputies, members of parliament, faculty members of the university and students attended. Kılıçdaroğlu took questions from the students after the opening speech. The question and answer session was closed to the press.
Saying that the future of the country will be determined by the youth, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said, “We see foreign policy as a national policy. In domestic politics, people may think differently, but in foreign policy, the main thing is the interests of the country. We believe that we should consider foreign policy as a national policy in order to defend the interests of the country. Countries build their foreign policies on their own country’s interests,” he said.
“THE BORDER WAY CAN COME OUT IF WANTS”
Kılıçdaroğlu said, “Why did we enter Syria? Why did we become part of the conflict? Why did we go to Putin’s feet when 33 of our soldiers were martyred? We are the victims, the martyrs are our soldiers. All of you should think about this. 3 million 600 thousand Syrians came to Turkey. Is there a limit? but there is the inn passing the border road. Anyone can enter and leave. Nobody knows where the incoming immigrants are stationed. We do not know the exact number of immigrants in Turkey. “We are facing many problems,” he said.
“WE ARE IN SIDE OF NOT INTERFERING IN THE INTERNAL BUSINESS OF ANOTHER COUNTRY”
Stating that he favors the continuation of the traditional foreign policy, Kılıçdaroğlu said, “We are in favor of not interfering in the internal affairs of another country. Especially in the Middle East, there is a thought inherited from Mustafa Kemal Atatürk: ‘Do not interfere in the internal affairs of the Arabs, do not interfere in the Arab geography. If they choose you as the referee, you may try to solve the problem, but be careful not to be a part of the problem’. We think so too. Today, we are a country that has serious problems with immigration. There are millions of people, they have created their ghettos. They have their own culture, and those cultures should be respected. But we cannot establish a healthy communication with them. We are experiencing an economic depression. When the economic depression comes together with the immigration phenomenon, we can become a society ready for social explosions.
“SPEAKING TO AVOID TALKING THAT INVOLVES RACISM”
Speaking about those who came to Turkey illegally, Kılıçdaroğlu said, “Discourses that evoke racism against immigrants should be carefully avoided. The fugitives are coming from Afghanistan through the Iranian border. They get on buses from Van and reach the big cities. In fact, this happens in front of everyone. “Somebody can’t control it, or people smugglers somehow manage it,” he said.
“WE WILL SEND WITH FREE WILL”
Referring to the readmission agreement, Kılıçdaroğlu said, “As CHP, we said that we will send all our Syrian brothers and sisters to their regions of their own free will within 2 years at the latest. There are two people responsible for this. First of all, they are the ones who are in charge of governing Turkey. They put Turkey in the Middle East swamp. The second responsible is Western countries. We signed a readmission agreement and turned Turkey into a refugee prison. When an asylum seeker goes to Greece from here, when he is caught, he is handed over to Turkey. Because, according to the readmission agreement, we have to take them back,” he said.
