Sahali: Government Treats The Country Like War Spoils

Speaking to Kıbrıs Postası, Sahali accused the government of excluding state authority from the process and stressed that the conditions of any tender should be determined by the state. He argued that the protocol contains serious risks in terms of sovereignty and oversight, and that the government is acting as if it bears no responsibility for previous periods of governance.

Commenting on statements by Transport Minister Erhan Arıklı, who said the fiber optic project could not be changed because it was carried out by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and published in Turkey’s Official Gazette, Sahali likened the government’s attitude to the film 50 First Dates, in which the main character wakes up each day with no memory of the past. He said the government behaves as if nothing existed before its own term in office.

Sahali also criticized Prime Minister Unal Ustel, saying the government acts as though all problems were inherited from others and that it carries no responsibility for earlier decisions. He claimed the administration treats governance as if everything was transferred to it through the mistakes of others.

He accused the government of seeing the country as a source of benefit rather than as a homeland, saying it does not feel any obligation toward the public. According to Sahali, the ruling coalition behaves as though the country is something to be exploited rather than protected and developed.

Sahali said the main objection of the CTP to the fiber optic project is the elimination of state authority. He argued that the state should define the tender conditions and allow both domestic and foreign companies, including Turkish Telekom, to participate under transparent and legal rules. Instead, he said, the current situation gives the impression that someone else opened a tender and the government merely submitted a bid.

He stated that the signed protocol effectively means the government has renounced its role in investment, supervision and regulation, as well as its responsibility in setting fair prices. He warned that such an approach weakens the state’s claim to sovereignty and undermines its status as a state.

Sahali emphasized that the CTP is not opposed to Turkish Telekom itself, but to the way the agreement was concluded. He said that in any proper tender process, companies should be evaluated according to financial capacity, past references and technical staff, and that the core issue is the tender specifications.

He concluded by saying that the current government views the country not as a homeland to which it owes responsibility, but as war spoils from which it seeks to benefit.