Üstel to İncirli: “This Is Beyond Your Capabilities!”

National Unity Party (UBP) leader and Prime Minister Ünal Üstel responded to a call by Republican Turkish Party (CTP) Chair Sıla Usar İncirli concerning the introduction of unconditional paid military service.

Criticising İncirli’s call for the legislation to be passed by Parliament before the election, Üstel said the unconditional paid military service reform involved several laws and defence regulations.

Üstel said they would complete the necessary preparations after the election and enact the legislation.

Prime Minister Ünal Üstel’s full statement reads as follows:

“Dear Ms Sıla,

You have spent this entire election campaign making romantic statements. You have constantly talked about young people emigrating, but you have not presented them with a single concrete project. Now you are embracing, one by one, the promises UBP has made to young people. Let us look on the bright side: your attitude shows just how concerned our projects have made you and how appropriate our promises are.

Which of the projects we developed with Turkey over the past five years have you supported? Which of the agreements we signed have you voted in favour of in Parliament? And now you say you will support us on this reform?

I attribute your belief that you can pass the Unconditional Paid Military Service Law through Parliament within 24 hours, without any preliminary preparation and in the middle of an election campaign, to your inexperience. This reform involves several laws and defence regulations.

This is beyond your capabilities, Ms Sıla.

I have made a clear promise to our young people and the public. I will complete all the preparations after the election. As soon as our government receives the vote of confidence, I will submit the legislative proposal at the first sitting of Parliament. I will take the necessary steps and enact unconditional paid military service.

You cannot make even a single promise to young people because you know you cannot deliver on it, so you resort to populism through such tactics. But our young people know who is capable of implementing this reform.

You also know that you cannot implement such a reform by opposing every project carried out with Turkey, while already wagging your finger at Ankara and trying to lecture it.

Keep watching us. We will announce many more projects that have not even crossed your mind. And with every new project, you will continue saying: ‘What a great project! How did we not think of this? Come, let us do it together.’

Dear young people, I repeat my promise once again. I will enact unconditional paid military service after the election. I am not merely making you a promise; I am already wishing you well with it.”