"We have turned Turkey into an island of stability and trust in the region"
"We have turned Turkey into an island of stability and trust in the region"
In his speech at a rally in Kocaeli, President Erdogan said: "Over the past 21 years, we have pushed back custody and rebuffed the conspirators. Despite the wars around it, we have turned Turkey into an island of stability and security in the region."
President and Chairman of the Justice and Development Party Recep Tayyip Erdogan took part in a rally in Kocaeli, held at the Kocaeli Congress Center, and delivered a speech.
Noting that he greeted the audience with the most sincere feelings of respect and affection, President Erdogan said: "Today I once again greet Kocaeli, the hearth of martyrs, the center of conquest, which defended the hordes of crusaders with its chest."
"WE WILL CONTINUE OUR INVESTMENTS AND DEVELOPMENT WITHOUT INTERRUPTION"
Singing the lines "Your name is great, your heart is high/You are beautiful from beginning to end/ Sentence by sentence, syllable by syllable, you are on my tongue, Kocaeli," President Erdogan continued: "Kocaeli, the pride of Turkey, is not only in our language, but also in the corners of our hearts. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to you for accepting us and taking us into your hearts. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my brothers and sisters from Kocaeli for their strong support in the May 14-28 elections. In Kocaeli, we, as the People's Alliance, received 54 percent of the votes in Parliament and 54.3 percent in the presidential Parliament. Are we ready to raise these stakes much higher in the March 31 elections? Are we ready for this? This magnificent painting in front of me is one, it already speaks about it. Here I see the good news of victory on the night of March 31. I believe that Kocaeli will once again talk about work and service. I believe that Kocaeli will make his choice very clearly in favor of the People's Alliance and real municipalism. I believe that we will not allow accidents in the capital city and districts. We will continue our investments and development without interruption."
Noting that there are two days left before the elections, President Erdogan said: "Many things in life can be compensated, but the ballot boxes cannot compensate for it. On Sunday, we will all rush to the polling stations early in the morning. We will give preference to names that will serve us, who will not forget their promises and who will keep their promises when they take office. First, we will look into our phone book and call the people we remember one by one."
Stressing that they should definitely urge their spouses, friends and relatives living in Istanbul to come to the polls, President Erdogan said: "We warn our relatives against those who waste time trying to make the Justice and Development Party and the People's Alliance lose and involve them in the CHP. We will not allow our vote to be wasted, especially in the mayor's office. I believe in the prudence, wisdom and common sense of my people."
President Erdogan said that he "did not come to be a master as president, but to be a servant," that he sincerely believes that the residents of Kocaeli will make the right decision, that they visited 52 different cities during the election marathon and held their last provincial rally here.
Noting that during this two-month period they received citizens from all over the country from Diyarbakir to Trabzon, from Hatay to Samsun, from Mugla to Chorum, from Karabuk to Hakkari, greeted the youth, received the blessing of the elderly and performed hasbihal with their sisters, President Erdogan said that they met with industrialists and manufacturers, they listened to the voice of the workers.
"WE ARE A BIG FAMILY OF 85 MILLION PEOPLE WITH ALL OUR DIFFERENCES"
Noting that they share the joy of the earthquake victims who have regained their new homes, President Erdogan said: "We have treated all our people without any discrimination. We longed and talked. This is exactly the picture we see in the places where we visit. We are a big family of 85 million people with all our differences, as you can see. Despite our differences, we are all brothers, we are one, we are together. You know, as we said in our election song: "We walked the same road, we drank the same water, we have the same summer and the same winter, we are the same mountain." Yes, we are all roses of the same vineyard, we are all from the same mountain. The more we maintain this alliance, the more confident we will be able to look to the future. The stronger we hold on to our brotherhood, the easier it will be for us to overcome problems."
President Erdogan said that Turkey's greatest strength is the unity, solidarity and unity of its citizens and the unshakeable bond they have established among themselves.
"TURKEY HAS A MATURE DEMOCRACY THAT HAS REPEATEDLY PROVED ITS WORTH"
President Erdogan continued: "We must protect and strengthen this bond. We must be very careful with those who want to distract from the growing political tensions during the election period. Turkey is a mature democracy that has repeatedly proved its worth. Our electoral system is at a level that will serve as an example for the whole world in all respects. We cannot allow these achievements, for which we have paid the price, to slip away from us.
Our political views may be different, the parties we love may be different, our origins, our professions and our way of life may be different, but Turkey is our common homeland, our common roof, our common home. The ballot box, which is a means of expressing the national will, is entrusted to the honor of all of us, as 85 million. We all have a responsibility to protect the reputation of the ballot box, including politicians, government officials and voters."
President Erdogan stated that the responsibility to democracy must be fulfilled both by going to the ballot box and voting, and by protecting the vote, and that he believes that all citizens, together with the candidates, will show the necessary sensitivity in this regard.
"WE MANAGED TO OVERCOME ALL THE PROBLEMS "
President Erdogan, who wished the elections to be favorable for Kocaeli along with other provinces, stated that he had just seen a similar large participation in a rally in Bursa, and said: "As Turkey, we have reached these days after the great struggle. None of our achievements were presented to us on a golden platter. In democracy, in the economy, we were not given any opportunity to enjoy rights and freedoms as a privilege. Over the past 21 years, we, as a nation, have faced many challenges. We have been subjected to numerous sabotages, hidden and open. We have experienced great disasters that, if they had happened to another country and people, we would never have been able to get back on our feet. Finally, on February 6, we were tested by an earthquake, the disaster of the century, which caused $104 billion in damage, in which we buried more than 53 thousand lives in one night. Thank God, we managed to overcome all these difficulties."
President Erdogan stressed that over the past 21 years they have pushed back custody, rebuffed the conspirators and inflicted the heaviest damage on terrorist organizations in their history.
Saying that they have turned Turkey into an island of stability and security in the region, despite the wars around it, President Erdogan stressed that they had begun to complete urban reconstruction less than a year after the earthquake.
"STARTING FROM THE SEA OF MARMARA, WE WILL PREPARE OUR RISKY SETTLEMENTS FOR EARTHQUAKES"
Stating that to date they have handed over almost 80,000 houses and rural houses to their rightful owners, President Erdogan said: "I hope we will increase this figure to 200,000 by the end of the year. In addition to earthquake recovery, we will also prepare our risky settlements for earthquakes, starting from the Sea of Marmara. This is our primary responsibility to the Marmara Sea region, which includes Istanbul and Kocaeli. During the earthquakes on February 6, we were once again convinced that the steps we have taken so far within the framework of the TOKI have saved lives. .More than 90 percent of the destroyed structures were built before 1999. Here I would like to state the following fact with all sincerity. If we don't want history to repeat itself, no matter which political party we belong to. We must do this not only for ourselves, but also for our children, whom we keep out of sight, and for future generations, to whom we will entrust our country. "It is vital for us that earthquake preparedness is at the top of our agenda for the next 5 years."
Noting that the government and local authorities should work hand in hand to carry out this process in cooperation with the understanding of mobilization, President Erdogan said that they had developed all plans in the light of the facts.
President Erdogan said: "With the completion of the electoral process, we will accelerate the implementation of urban transformation projects. We will complete our preparations at the highest level before the earthquake that scientists are warning about suddenly knocks on our door. I believe that our nation will not leave us. alone in this struggle, regardless of the political party. I pray that God will help us."
"WE HAVE COME SO FAR, OVERCOMING OBSTACLES ONE BY ONE,"
Stating that they have never been one of those who play in the stands, and that they have never taken steps that will make the nation and the state pay the price for short-term benefits, President Erdogan noted that they are trying to save, build and create the future Turkey, as well as its present.
Stating that they always look ahead and never take their eyes off the horizon, President Erdogan said: "Those who accused us of being dreamy when we started our projects in the defense industry 15-20 years ago are now watching our achievements with envy. Those who call our drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea a waste of time are confused by the greatest discovery in our history. Those who mock us by saying that "they find oil before every election" are forced to appreciate us. We face the same situation in everything from our domestic and national Togg brand to our fifth-generation KAAN fighter, from urban hospitals to bridges, roads, railway lines and airports."
Stressing that Turkey would have continued to stand still if it had surrendered to the wedge-driven opposition policy over the past 21 years, President Erdogan said that neither the share of domestic and national production in the defense industry would increase to 80 percent, nor exports would reach 256 billion dollars.
Recalling that a record in the tourism sector was broken ($54.5 billion), employment increased, and national income exceeded $1.1 trillion, President Erdogan said: "If we tried to count them here, we would not be able to achieve any of these and other breakthroughs that would take hours. I have to say this openly. Whatever we did, we did it despite the subversive policy of the CHP. Whatever we have achieved, we have achieved despite the temptations of this mentality. Praise be to Allah, we have come so far, overcoming obstacles one by one, breaking chains, encountering difficulties and repelling attacks.
" "WE HAVE COMPLETED 12 THOUSAND 506 HOUSES THROUGH THE TOKI CHANNEL AND HANDED THEM OVER TO THEIR RIGHTFUL OWNERS"
Noting that over the past 21 years they have invested almost 305 billion liras in Kocaeli, President Erdogan said that they have built 12,941 new classrooms in the field of education and commissioned the Gebze Technical University.
Recalling that they opened the buildings of dormitories of higher educational institutions with a capacity of 18,538 people and built 57 sports facilities for youth and sports, President Erdogan pointed to the Kocaeli Stadium with a capacity of 33 thousand people, the Kartepe student dormitory with a capacity of 328 people and the training center of the Izmit sports camp with 192 seats.
President Erdogan said: "We have transferred 5.75 billion liras to our needy citizens in Kocaeli. In the field of healthcare, we have introduced 93 medical institutions to our city, including 22 hospitals totaling 3,71 beds, especially the Kocaeli City Hospital with 220 beds. Currently, the construction of the state hospitals "Chaiyrova" with 200 beds and "Geldjuk" with 250 beds, as well as nine medical institutions, is continuing. We have built 12,506 houses through TOKI and handed them over to their rightful owners."
Stating that they are continuing the construction of 7,230 houses, that they have transformed 42,334 residential and commercial areas into urban transformation, and that the process of converting 3,545 independent plots is ongoing, President Erdogan said that they have completed and commissioned nine of the 14 projects of the National Garden in Kocaeli, and that construction and design work They are continuing.
Stating that they had increased the length of the divided road they had taken from 151 kilometers to 376 kilometers, President Erdogan said: "We have brought the Istanbul-Izmir highway, the Osmangazi Bridge and the North Marmara Highway to our city. We have built the Köprülü interchange at the TEM bus station and opened it to traffic. In 2025, we will complete the connection of the Derince Port-D-100 and TEM Highway. We have started repairing the upper structure on the TEM highway and the connecting roads in this section from the Eastern Izmit interchange to the Kavadzhik interchange. We have completed 18 kilometers of the Izmit-Kandyra-Kaynardzha road. Our work on the remaining sections continues."
Noting that they have started work on the Yalova-Izmit highway project, President Erdogan said: "We have commissioned the Bus Station-Kurucheshme tram line and the Kartepe cable car line through our metropolitan municipality. In addition, on March 17, we put into operation the tram line of the Kocaeli City Hospital. We have turned Kocaeli into a high-speed train hub. Thanks to the Gebze-Halkaly commuter train line, we have combined Gebze with Halkaly under the Bosphorus. We have commissioned the Köseköy logistics center, which has a capacity of 2 million tons per year."
"WE HAVE PROVIDED 5.5 BILLION LIRA AGRICULTURAL GRANT SUPPORT TO OUR KOCAELI FARMERS"
President Erdogan stressed that they are preparing for a tender for the construction of a high-speed train between Gebze, Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, Istanbul Airport and Halkala, and continued: "We are also integrating the Gebze– Daryja Organized Industrial Zone metro line, which is under construction, into Marmaray. Karamursel, Karamursel and Halkaly have been added to our city. We have built the Kyzderbent and Ihsaniye dams, four irrigation facilities, 10 flood protection facilities and five hydroelectric power plants. We have provided 5.5 billion liras of agricultural grant support to our farmers in Kocaeli. In the field of industry and technology, we have created six new organized industrial zones, two industrial zones, five technoparks, 136 research and development centers and 17 design centers. To support employment, we have provided our employers in Kocaeli with bonuses worth about 24 billion liras. The number of active insured in our city has increased from 276 thousand to 786 thousand. In the energy sector, we have provided natural gas to all areas of Kocaeli."
A film showing investments made in the city was shown at the rally. Continuing his speech after the screening of the film, President Erdogan said:
"With the permission of Allah, after March 31, we will add many more projects together with our municipalities, me as your president and all my fellow ministers."
