MHP Chairman Bahçeli: ‘The Security of Damascus is the Security of Ankara’
Ankara, January 20 – Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), declared during his party’s parliamentary group meeting that “The security of Damascus is the security of Ankara. The happiness, welfare, and unity of the Syrian people are one and the same with the Turkish nation.” Bahçeli’s remarks underscored the MHP’s commitment to regional stability and the fight against terrorism.
Comprehensive Assessments on Internal and External Developments
Bahçeli informed that the MHP had recently held provincial chairmen’s meetings, followed by joint meetings of the Central Executive Board and the Central Disciplinary Board. These gatherings aimed to make comprehensive evaluations on internal and external developments affecting Turkey, as well as global political and strategic struggles, and increasing risks and threats. “We meticulously reviewed the decisive steps taken within the framework of ‘Terror-Free Turkey’ and ‘Terror-Free Region’ goals, as well as the disruptive effects and misleading suggestions. We confirmed our cautious and prudent political stance by examining the hostile scenarios written with violence and cruelty by Zionist-imperialism and its corrupt and sworn collaborators,” Bahçeli stated.
He emphasized that the MHP is committed to realizing a peaceful, secure Turkey with solidified national unity and integrity, built on peace and prosperity, through the common sense and moral structure of the People’s Alliance. Bahçeli asserted that this aim and determination are too vital, truthful, and honorable to be sacrificed for cheap calculations or simple games.
“Good Days Neighbor, Your Trouble is Our Trouble” Program
Bahçeli noted that the party has continuously raised the bar in meetings held under the “Good Days Neighbor, Your Trouble is Our Trouble” program, launched on October 24, 2025, embracing Turkey with their hearts. He reported that a total of 76,544 programs have been carried out in 81 provinces and 963 districts to date, commending his comrades for their efforts.
Future Goals and the Vision of a ‘Superpower Turkey’
The MHP leader expressed his party’s enthusiastic and fervent desire to achieve great goals and turn dreams into reality in the second quarter of the new century. He outlined their approach:
- Firstly, they will consider the honor of the nation’s will as their own honor, demonstrating no deviation or wavering from democracy.
- Secondly, they will interpret the requirements of the age, the spirit of the times, and the direction and true nature of change dynamics through the perspective of Turkish nationalism, grasping the world’s general context with the possibilities and richness of the Turkish language.
- They will regard their national and spiritual values as the armor of their existential honor, and the invaluable adornment of their unity, well-being, and brotherhood.
- Thirdly, without detaching from their roots, national identity, source, and the enlightenment of their ideals, they will continuously advance with strong unity and faith, holding their ranks tightly, ultimately meeting together at the dawn of Kızıl elma (the Red Apple, a mythical symbol of Turkish ideals).
“When the time comes, we will greet the sun from where it rises. When the time comes, we will eloquently read the unwritten epic of the Turkish nation. When the time comes, we will proclaim the ideal of Turkish-World Domination from the castle walls of a superpower Turkey,” Bahçeli declared.
He underscored that politics is not only a virtue, a necessity, a legitimacy, an enchantment, and an affiliation but also the entirety of serving humanity, showing integrity, action, and thought with respect for the national will. He added that those deprived of this understanding have poor, crippled, and obsolete politics.
The Analogy of the Sack and the “SDG/YPG is a Terrorist Organization” Stance
Bahçeli recalled his group speech on June 8, 2021, where he attempted to explain and conceptualize politics with a historical anecdote attributed to Muhyiddin Ibn-i Arabi. He recounted how Ibn-i Arabi observed porters unloading flour sacks at the Alexandria Port, with the foreman repeatedly instructing them: “Hold the sack with politics, carry the sack with politics, unload the sack with politics.” When Ibn-i Arabi asked the foreman what it meant to unload the sack with politics, the foreman replied: “Unloading with politics means not bursting the sack. Once the sack bursts, there is no use in complaining, lamenting, or grieving.”
“We have neither the intention nor such a thought to burst the sack or let it burst. One who goes to Dimyat for rice must also consider the bulgur at home. This is the duty of politics. Contrary to what is said, the water pitcher should reach its destination without breaking on the way. Politics exists for this,” Bahçeli stated.
Regarding regional and global developments, Bahçeli emphasized that Turkey must be the focal point of every assessment. He stressed the need to analyze and follow the world, events, and the strong current of life from a 360-degree angle, placing the fixed point of the compass in Ankara. He added that the only method consistent with reason, logic, and historical heritage is the inductive method, extending their view from the center to every point on the globe.
Drawing attention to developments in Syria, Bahçeli stated that the terrorist organization SDG/YPG was dislodged from its strongholds by the Syrian army’s “effective combat capability” and driven west of the Euphrates. He noted that Aleppo, along with Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, were liberated from captivity, oppression, imposition, and occupation. He added that the SDG/YPG, which resisted the March 10 Agreement and sabotaged negotiation opportunities, was forcibly removed from its positions through a comprehensive sweep operation.
Bahçeli underscored that these recent developments are highly positive and significant for Syria, regional countries, and Turkey. “It is clear that the SDG/YPG, which organizes assassinations against the goals of ‘Terror-Free Turkey’ and ‘Terror-Free Region,’ acted contrary to the February 27 Imralı call. Indeed, the PKK’s founding leadership itself views and presents the SDG/YPG provocations in Syria as an attempt to sabotage the February 27 Peace and Democratic Society process,” he explained.
He highlighted that a new political and social structure is being established in Syria. The fact that the SDG/YPG had to sign a 14-article ceasefire and full integration agreement with the Damascus administration when faced with pressure is meaningful and beneficial. Bahçeli stated that Arab tribes, Kurds, Turkmens, and other ethnic groups in Syria have no aspirations other than to live together in unity and brotherhood. He specifically mentioned that Arab tribes in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, hand in hand with the Damascus government, exhibited an extraordinary struggle against SDG/YPG terrorism. “It must be reiterated that our Kurdish brothers are one thing, and the SDG/YPG is another. The SDG/YPG is a terrorist organization; its claim to represent our Kurdish brothers or to speak on their behalf is a blatant lie, a figment of imagination from A to Z,” he asserted.
“We Will Not Tolerate the Bloody Conspiracies and Complications of Terrorist Organizations”
Bahçeli recalled Syrian President Ahmed Şara’s decree and his earlier statements regarding developments in Syria, describing the decree as accurate, meaningful, and a timely and important step towards strengthening unity and integrity in Syria.
“I want to emphasize again that the establishment of a unitary structure based on the principle of Syria’s indivisible integrity with its country and nation should not bring up discussions that could revive old conflict lines and terrorist activities such as federation, confederation, or autonomy. It is very important that everyone tied to the Syrian Republic by citizenship has equal rights, freedoms, and obligations, and that ethnic or religious differences hold no importance in the eyes of the state,” Bahçeli stated.
He stressed that the most important common denominator should be “Syrian citizenship,” and all social segments should be guaranteed this. “No segment, no ethnic or sectarian group in Syria should be excluded, victimized, or ignored. With one flag, one state, one army; a Syrian Republic state whose sovereign equality is established in every inch of its land will make a very valuable contribution to regional stability and peace,” he added.
Bahçeli asserted that the SDG/YPG’s de facto and aggressive stance, acting like a state within a state, is unsustainable. Therefore, not only west of the Euphrates but also east of the Euphrates, from Ayn al-Arab to Qamishli, the roots of active terrorist activities must be eradicated, and a comprehensive and coordinated clean-up operation must be implemented. “Neither domestically nor abroad will we tolerate, succumb to, or be lenient towards the bloody conspiracies and complications of terrorism and terrorist organizations,” he vowed.
He emphasized that terrorism has no end, that it is a dead-end street, and that the most heinous crime against humanity is the crime of terror. He stated that living with terror, remaining silent, or being a spectator to terror is the opposite of living honorably.
“It should be well known that murders, evils, betrayals, and disgraces will not go unpunished, and no treacherous organization will be let off the hook. The political and territorial integrity, sovereignty rights, and internal peace and stability of the Syrian Republic state are indisputable, cannot be diluted, and cannot be compromised,” Bahçeli declared. “The security of Damascus is the security of Ankara. The happiness, welfare, and unity of the Syrian people are one and the same with the Turkish nation. Our wish and hope is that the 14-article ceasefire and full integration agreement signed between the Damascus administration and the SDG/YPG will constitute a turning point, providing maximum support for the realization of a peaceful Syria aiming for political and social stability with the goal of a ‘Terror-Free Region.'”
Bahçeli concluded his speech by emphasizing that no matter how severe or profound the threat, state governance must never compromise on justice and the limits drawn by law. He stated that the fight against terror and separatism must be the same, noting that Turkey’s struggle against separatist terrorism, which began in 1984, has been ongoing for 42 years and is its most significant existential problem. “This problem will be fundamentally solved,” he said.
Bahçeli stated that those who are seized by fear, lose sleep, go mad, and even become instruments and tools of every smear campaign as a Terror-Free Turkey progresses step by step, deserve to lose and be condemned and ashamed in the eyes of the nation. “Inspired by Saadi of Shiraz, I remind you that those who are porters of their own faults are busy with the flaws of others. In doing so, they resort to a very dangerous language. May my Lord protect us all from those who are ignorant enough to defend wrong and lies, blind enough not to see right and righteousness, and ungrateful enough to deny goodness and good intentions, and keep such people away from our nation forever, I say.”
“We will not be swayed by provocations, we will not deviate from our path. We will not get stuck on bombastic clichés, we will not care about those whose livelihood is demagoguery. Deceiving our citizens, fueling hope-mongering, the dominance of lies, the prominence of public flattery, and the acceptance of demagoguery as valid currency, is openly tampering with the national will. This is, in essence, the usurpation of the national will. Ultimately, the continued existence of charlatan political entertainers who run from delusion to delusion to usurp the national will indicates that an honest and honorable political understanding based on moral foundations has not taken sufficient root.”
Devlet Bahçeli stated that his party’s goal is to bring Turkey to the level of development it deserves. “We have never and will never give credence to hypocrisy and lack of character that sees every means as legitimate, sets sail with every wind, and carries its field to wherever the rain is. In the new century, we will definitely remove terrorism from our lives. In the new century, we will break the wheel of fortune, disrupt traps, and tear up dark scenarios,” he assessed.
He emphasized that Turkey’s fortune is bright, and the spirit of national unity and solidarity is much stronger than yesterday. He stated that a Turkey that is economically developed, has continuously maintained its political stability, has preserved its unity and solidarity climate with the power of justice, and has made its name and will known in all fields, will be built and revived.
Bahçeli noted that they will resist internal and external operations that shake the moral and spiritual front, systematic attacks that destroy the family institution, and dangerous currents that harm national existence and national values, until the very end.
“CHP’s Business is Exploitation and Denial”
MHP Chairman Bahçeli described January 20 as a day of catastrophe, known as “Black January,” when the people who took to the streets with legitimate demands in various regions of Azerbaijan, especially Baku, were intervened with heavy weapons. He recalled that, according to official data, 147 people were martyred on that devastating day, but this bloody intervention could not prevent the independence march of Azerbaijani Turks.
Bahçeli stated that the 44-day Patriotic War in 2020 witnessed the manifestation of freedom and justice, which had been patiently awaited for many years. “With these feelings, I commemorate our martyrs who lost their lives on January 20, 1990, and in the Karabakh War, with mercy, gratitude, and respect, and I greet the friendly and brotherly people of Azerbaijan with respect and love. Our destiny is one, our word is one, our decision is one, our determination is one. Our past is one, our future is one, our existence is one, our reunion is one. Our name is one, our memory is one, Azerbaijan and Turkey are brothers forever, one nation, two states,” he said.
Bahçeli emphasized that the MHP’s understanding of politics is sincere, honest, principled, consistent, and based on moral principles. “We do not talk nonsense like some. We do not play both sides like some. We are as we appear, and we know how to appear as we are. There are no zigzags in our line,” he assessed.
Bahçeli stated that they will not resemble the CHP, which stood on the wrong side of history in the Karabakh War and opened the national struggle to debate. “We will never resort to this. The CHP’s business is exploitation and denial,” he said.
Bahçeli stated that it is clear and evident to them how alien the CHP is to the Turkish world, and how it views the Turkish-Islamic world askew. “The CHP’s profession and preoccupation are to detach every national issue from its context, to remain alien to developments concerning our country and the Turkish world, and to look at them from afar. Their politics are cemented with international delusion, while our politics are reinforced with our national and historical heritage. The CHP’s opposition politics are designed against Turkey. Opportunism, exploitation, and treasure hunting are their means of livelihood,” he said.
“To this sweet-water cunning, I say, pass on these”
MHP Chairman Bahçeli recalled his statements regarding retirement pensions in his party’s parliamentary group meeting last week, continuing his words as follows:
“I repeat this without ‘buts’ or ‘howevers’: I stand behind my words until the end and I am with our retirees. We do what we say, and we explain and own what we do. We do not understand the CHP’s internal conflicts, corruption and bribery mechanisms, the resources flowing into drug and gambling dens, and its problematic politics. Because our mind and our thoughts are always Turkey, the Turkish nation. The Nationalist Movement Party is a partner in the People’s Alliance, but it is not a government partner. As an alliance partner, it is a requirement of our political morality to support the decisions taken by the Presidential Cabinet with good intentions for the development of Turkey, the peace and welfare of our nation, within the limits of budget possibilities. We are doing this. We are not dealing with empty matters. We are not paying attention to tin noises. As a rooted political party, we are pondering economic and social issues.”
Bahçeli stated that CHP Chairman Özgür Özel tried to exploit his assessment of retirees, but his aim failed. “He wanted to sow discord within the People’s Alliance with his speech in Hatay, and set up a trap of discord over our retirees. If we do not support their motions, they will accuse us of not protecting retirees. To this sweet-water cunning, I say, pass on these, pass on these. We will not support your motion, we will not fall for your tricks, we will not give in to your officious tactics. If you have any work aimed at solving Turkey’s problems, share it so we can see,” he said.
Bahçeli stated that his party acts with concrete policies, expressing his belief that as opportunities increase, the situation of retirees will also improve, and that with national unity and solidarity, tomorrow will be much stronger and more prosperous than today. Bahçeli stated that the CHP “talks out of its hat,” while the MHP produces economic and social policies to provide lasting solutions to the livelihood issues of citizens. Showing the texts of the projects prepared by his party, Bahçeli said: “The Project for Calculating the Minimum Welfare Level based on an Index and Income Support for Families. Republican People’s Party, look at these carefully. The thickness of this is as much as the CHP. Nutrition Project, Housing Project, Clothing Project… These have existed since Bilge Khan. Housing, nutrition, and clothing are the essence of the Turk, the policy of the Turk.”
Referring to his party’s nutrition project, Bahçeli said, “Instead of going from market to market and telling citizens ‘the price of onions is this, the price of potatoes is that,’ explain how you will solve it with something like this. Housing Project, ‘they have no home, rents have increased, this happened, that happened.’ There is no need to exploit the poor, retirees, and unemployed by having people talk on television every day.”
Referring to the MHP’s project for acquiring livable and safe housing, Bahçeli said, “This is a comprehensive set of social policies that we have gathered. The minds of the offices you set up are not enough for these projects. Whether you set up a ‘presidential office’ or a ‘shadow cabinet of ministers,’ you cannot catch up with us.”
Bahçeli emphasized that his party is working in a well-equipped and project-oriented manner, noting that the end of insincere politics is the abyss of frustration, and the end of exploitative politics is inevitably the pit of defeat.
“The Murder of Ahmet Minguzzi Has Almost Recurred”
MHP Chairman Bahçeli addressed the stabbing death of 17-year-old Atlas Çağlayan in Istanbul’s Güngören district by a 15-year-old, allegedly for “looking sideways,” stating, “The murder of Ahmet Minguzzi has almost recurred.” Bahçeli offered his condolences to Atlas Çağlayan’s grieving family, wishing them patience, and stated, “We must do whatever is necessary for children who have committed or been involved in crimes.”
Drawing attention to the increasing number of incidents that raise concerns and fears in society, Bahçeli stated that Turkey’s social fabric is being damaged, and moral values are under intense attack. He noted that madness, murder, and violence are spreading simultaneously, peace is being swallowed, and tranquility is being eroded, with the civilization’s heritage under attack from all sides.
Bahçeli pointed out that some artists and media figures are associated with drugs, that both famous and unknown individuals are struggling in swamps, and that the decay of cosmeticized lives is evident. “You see, every scandal, every kind of disgusting behavior takes place on a private jet. Our country almost reminds one of مرحوم Reşat Nuri Güntekin’s work, ‘Yaprak Dökümü’ (The Fall of Leaves). Everyone has become Bihter, everyone has embodied the character of Behlül. I ask you, what happened to us? How did we lose so much altitude? How did we fall into these states? Furthermore, are what is happening and what is being made to happen fair to the Muslim Turkish nation?” he questioned.
“We Must Come Together and Prepare a National Moral Reform and Implement It”
MHP Chairman Bahçeli stressed that recent developments have sounded alarm bells, describing the spread of virtual betting, drug and stimulant use, and the lowering age of users as a “terrifying threat.”
“From this podium, I say with determination that we cannot risk our future, we cannot surrender our children to the hands and desires of vile and dishonorable drug dealers. We must launch an all-out struggle. We cannot, and should not, shed tears for anyone. We must come together and prepare a national moral reform and implement it. National morality is the salvation of the nation. Moving away from national morality is equivalent to losing the national spirit. Moral bankruptcy is a kind of death,” he assessed.
Bahçeli recalled the lines of Mehmet Akif Ersoy, the poet of the National Anthem: “Nothing ever descends from the sky… Everything overflows from the earth / A nation dies or lives by its own morality.” He continued his words as follows:
“To whoever is rampant, cannot digest their elevated position, engages in all sorts of distorted and vile relationships, gets high on drugs and goes berserk, I say, enough is enough, it’s time to get out of our nation’s agenda. An artist is one who builds civilization, but what kind of civilization’s legacy is the artist’s picture before us? More precisely, is it a matter of reason and morality to put the concept of civilization next to these? Akif, who likened the state of a society composed of people who have lost their spiritual dynamism, are corrupted, emotionless, have adopted destructive ideas, are resigned to oppression, do not care about justice and fairness, are content with their own optimism, forget the weak and needy individuals, are arrogant, selfish, lie, forget their promises, make sectarian, denominational, national, linguistic differences a cause for discord, engage in useless ceremonies, flatter the powerful, and exhibit a two-faced attitude as explained by the lion-cat example, to the state of a fragmented, dissolved body, suggests that our morality must rise for salvation. Believe me, there is no second option other than raising our morality.”
“If Not Today, When Will We Bring Down the World on Their Heads?”
Devlet Bahçeli stated that ongoing judicial processes must be concluded urgently, and the country and nation must be rescued and pulled out of the whirlpool they have fallen into immediately.
Bahçeli noted that Turkey cannot be associated with the dubious incidents at Bebek Hotel, and the word “baby,” a symbol of purity, cannot be juxtaposed with “vile relationships.” “Turkey cannot be confined to a sin-ridden jet flying in the air. Turkey cannot be equated with drug-addicted degenerates who have permeated the media, business world, politics, and other social spheres. If not today, when will we teach drug dealers, despicable peddlers, and dishonorable individuals who besiege our children a lesson, and bring down the world on their heads?” he questioned.
Bahçeli emphasized that families, educational institutions, non-governmental organizations, and political parties must bravely and audaciously carry out a relentless and coordinated struggle to defend national morality within the framework of an emergency action plan. “That day is today. Negligence is disaster. We will be a flag, we will be a banner, we will be a homeland, we will not fall, we will not turn a blind eye to the defeat of our moral front, we will definitely not let Turkey fall. We will be one, we will be brothers, we will be a big family, with the heroic stance of the Turkish nation, we will dry up the weeds and disappoint those who carry the hope of our internal collapse. We will be brave, we will be moral, we will be virtuous, we will be uncompromising, we will be real men, we will defend Turkey to the end with a reckless heart, we will be the voice of the Turkish nation,” he stated.
MHP Chairman Bahçeli concluded his speech with the words: “I call out to everyone in the world, especially America: In the matter of Palestine and Gaza, the chairman of the peace committee should be the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and then whoever wants to join, let them join. The head of peace is Turkey, its head is the President. Come on, I challenge you.”
Meanwhile, Bahçeli was seen wearing a lapel pin with the Fattahoğulları family seal, and the Bismillah, Fatih, Ikhlas, and Fatiha surahs written in calligraphy. He also wore a ring with the Fattahoğulları family seal in the center, surrounded by the Bismillah, Fatih, Ikhlas, and Fatiha surahs in calligraphy, and Devlet Bahçeli’s monograms on its side surfaces.
Source: trthaber.com
