Breaking news… President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan speaks at the Antalya Diplomatic Forum.

Highlights from President Erdoğan’s statements:

On behalf of my nation, I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who shared our sadness at the tragic incident in Kahramanmaraş.

Today, diplomacy is no longer just an area where problems and interests are negotiated. Diplomacy also represents a basis on which the common future of humanity will be discussed in the context of principles.

The genocide in Gaza has clearly shown us what the current order allows and who it protects.

Neither the system crisis nor the construction of a more just world can be achieved without closing the representation gap that we have brought to the agenda of humanity with the slogan “The world is bigger than 5”.

The shortest path to peace is constructive dialogue and diplomacy, and as our People’s Alliance partner Devlet Bahçeli puts it, peace is not a one-winged bird. It is of great importance for the parties to act with patience and common sense.

“HORUZ SHOULD BE KEPT OPEN TO COMMERCIAL SHIPS”

The main thing is to ensure freedom of navigation on the basis of established rules and to keep Hormuz open to commercial ships. One side of Hormuz is Iran and the other side is Oman. Gulf countries’ right to access the high seas should not be restricted.

Türkiye is ready to support all kinds of facilitating steps, including direct negotiations, including the Leaders’ Summit.

Striking details have emerged about the personal profile of İsa Aras Mersinli (14), an 8th grade student who carried out the school attack in Kahramanmaraş that resulted in the death of 9 people and the injury of 20 people. The statement of 1st Class Police Chief and Police Chief Inspector Uğur Mersinli, the arrested father of Mersinli, who committed the bloody action at Ayser Çalık Secondary School, where he was studying, with 5 guns belonging to his father, was reached. Here are the striking details from the father’s statement:

I TAKEN ME TO A PSYCHOLOGIST: My son spoke English like his native language, he was a very smart child. My son had typical teenage and exam problems and stress. I took my son to the psychologist friends at the police station, they said there was no negative situation. I have been taking him to a private psychologist near our home for about 2 months. The psychologist in question said that my son may have problems with his adaptation to society, that he should be followed carefully, and that psychiatric treatment may be required in the future.

HE PLAYED A WAR GAME: Since my son was using his computer and mobile phone in English mode, I could not follow what he was doing because I did not know English. Although I didn’t know his name, I often saw him playing war games. When I asked him what he was doing, he would not give me a healthy answer and just ignore me.

HE WANTED ME TO SHOOT: He had no interest in guns. However, about a month ago, he said that his friends were shooting with a gun and asked me when I would have him shoot. I came home from work and left the gun on the dresser in the bedroom for a short time. I saw my son trying to grab the gun and I got angry at him. My son told me that in America everyone can buy a gun. I told him who can buy and carry weapons in our country. My son said that his friends were shooting with a gun and he wanted me to shoot him with a gun.

I TAKEN ME TO THE RANGE: I took my son to the police range last Monday, 2 days before the attack. I shot with a gun myself. I also had my son shoot a few shots. I showed my son the target in front of him and told him that the gun would not be used randomly, the shooting would be targeted. I took some photos and videos while my son was shooting. My purpose in this was to keep it as a memory and to dull his enthusiasm. I then sent the photos to my son via WhatsApp. According to what I learned from the police, my son showed these photos to his friends, and they were amazed.

HE WAS NOT SHOWING US: Since my child was always busy on the computer and mobile phone, I was curious and wanted to check, but my son did not give me his passwords. I wanted to check it, thinking it might be affected by harmful content. While my son was playing games, he would speak English, but I could not understand what he was saying. He played interactive (conversational, online) games. When we entered the room, he would close everything and not want to show us anything. For this reason, we have not detected any negative situation so far.

HE BECAME AGGRESSIVE WHEN HE RECEIVED LOW GRADES: My son’s mood was constantly changing. He would display aggressive behavior when he got low grades in exams. However, I did not notice any negative behavior towards teachers or students. From time to time, I would ask him if he was bullied at school, but he would say “no.” His circle of friends was quite limited.

HE TRIED TO DROWN HIMSELF IN CLASS
It was revealed that İsa Aras Mersinli attempted to harm himself several times at school, choking himself with the rope of his school uniform and stuffing paper into his mouth, leaving him breathless. It was noted that the parents complained because the children were afraid.

Police Chief Inspector Uğur Mersinli, the father of the attacker, was arrested by the criminal judgeship of peace on duty and sent to prison.

ACTION PLAN ON THE COMPUTER
Striking details were found in the examination of the attacker Mersinli’s computer and mobile phone. It was determined that a document dated April 11, 2026 on his computer contained information that he would carry out a major action. Meanwhile, it is evaluated that there is no terrorist connection regarding the attack and the action was carried out individually.

SERIAL KILLER FAN
It was revealed that İSA Aras Mersinli posted a photo of serial killer Elliot Rodger, who killed 6 people in Isla Vista, California, in 2024, on his WhatsApp profile. On the other hand, it was learned that the images of the school attack in the USA were found on the phone of Ömer Ket (19), who carried out the school raid in Şanlıurfa Siverek, in which 16 people were injured.

BANNED GAMES ARE FOUND FROM HIS COMPUTER
It was determined that the attacker İsa Aras Mersinli was addicted to games, according to the data obtained from his computer and mobile phone. It was determined that Mersinli was playing violent PUBG games and the game called ‘Kill Teacher’, which means ‘kill the teacher’, on his computer, where he was given tasks such as pranking, harming or taking revenge on the teacher. It was also determined that he was playing the violent game Roblox, which was banned in 2024. Neighbors of the family said that Mersinli was addicted to gaming and exhibited problematic behavior.

Strict pursuit of those who target schools: 127 suspects detained
Within the scope of the investigation launched after the school attacks in Şanlıurfa and Kahramanmaraş provinces, both digital and field operations were accelerated. The General Directorate of Security reported that 127 people who made misleading posts about the school attacks and made threats and calls for action were detained, and access to 1115 internet addresses considered to be linked to the attacks was blocked. It was reported that among those detained were those who made schools open targets and targeted 54 different schools by sharing posts containing attack threats. Monitoring continues for posts that are provocative and aim to mislead the public and disrupt the peace.

Ceyhan TORLAK – Mehmet BONCUK – Ali ALTUNTAŞ- Murat KARAMAN – Umay Sena SÜMER – Sena UYANER – Muharrem DOĞANTEZ- Hüseyin KAÇAR / SABAH

Nevzat Bahtiyar, whose 4.5-year prison sentence in the case of 8-year-old Narin Güran, who was killed on August 21, 2024 in Tavşantepe village of Diyarbakır’s Bağlar district, was overturned by the Supreme Court of Appeals, appeared before the judge again. At the hearing at the Diyarbakır 8th High Criminal Court, Bahtiyar stated that they went home together after the defendant headman Salim Güran called him, and argued that he had no direct involvement in the murder, and said, “Salim Güran threatened me with a gun. He said he would shoot me in the head first, then my son. That’s why I had to do what he said.” The defendant stated that he did not remember the exact hours on the day of the incident and claimed that he did not act with his own consent. The public prosecutor who spoke at the hearing requested that the defendant be punished with aggravated life imprisonment, not for the crime of “aiding intentional murder” but for the crime of “murder of a child with participation”. The prosecutor also requested that no discount clause be applied. Concluding the case, the court sentenced Nevzat Bahtiyar to 17 years in prison for “aiding aggravated deliberate murder”.

The police statements of 7 of the 13 suspects detained within the scope of the Gülistan Doku investigation have been completed. Among the suspects whose statements were completed, Gökhan Ertok, who was said to have intervened in Doku’s SIM card, Erdoğan Elaldı, the Provincial Special employee at the time, and Savaş Gültürk and Süleyman Önal, who were responsible for Munzur University’s camera system, were referred to the courthouse. Ertok and Elaldı were taken to court and arrested.

OCCASION AT THE YOUTH CENTER
SABAH reached the statement of secret witness ‘February’, the key name of the investigation. According to the statement, Mustafa Türkay Sonel, the son of the then governor Tuncay Sonel, was on the top floor of the Youth Center with Umut Altaş, frequently drinking alcohol and using drugs, and sleeping with women. 8 days before the incident (December 27, 2019), Sonel and Altaş met with Zeinal Abakarov, Gülistan Doku and a girlfriend at the same place and started drinking alcohol. Meanwhile, Sonel, Altaş and Abakarov also used drugs.

Then Sonel and Altaş wanted to be with Gülistan Doku. When Gülistan Doku refused, she was beaten and raped by Sonel and Altaş. It was also determined from the base data that Gülistan Doku, Mustafa Türkay Sonel and Umut Altaş were at the Youth Center on December 27. According to the statement of the secret witness, Doku became pregnant due to this rape. On the day of the incident, Mustafa Türkay Sonel killed Gülistan Doku with an Uzi or Scorpion-style weapon in the Rostan-Dinar region near the Sarı Saltuk Viaduct, where she was last seen.

The body was buried by Governor Tuncay Sonel’s bodyguard Şükrü Eroğlu and a village guard. It was also determined from the base data that on the day of the incident, Mustafa Türkay Sonel and Umut Altaş were in Rostan-Dinarı, where the murder was committed, between 19.28 and 21.36. Afterwards, it was determined that bodyguards Şükrü Eroğlu and Mustafa Türkay Sonel were also based in the same region along with Umut, starting from 22.08. Umut Altaş met with the gendarmerie after escaping to the USA, saying he had something to tell, and asked if he could be a secret witness in the investigation. Altaş, who did not object that he had no connection with the incident, did not reject the allegations of the secret witness in the investigation and answered, “Okay, very nice.”

The 217th Executive Council Meeting within the scope of the 152nd General Assembly of the IPU, hosted by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, was held under the chairmanship of IPU President Tulia Ackson. Speaking at the ceremony, Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Numan Kurtulmuş, said, “I think this meeting is a meeting with the highest participation in the recent history of the IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union). Nearly 155 countries are represented here. We are hosting an extremely important, large international meeting with 80 Parliament Speakers, nearly 800 deputies and 2420 registrations.” Kurtulmuş said, “The old era is behind us. We see that a new era is opening in front of us. We will decide together as humanity how the new era will be. Unfortunately, the United Nations has become an international institution that is governed and directed by those in power as they wish. And unfortunately, these double standards in the world continue to be exposed to all of us through the human tragedies we all witness. More than 75 thousand people were killed in 3 years, and 70 percent of them were women and children. I wonder who used which institution. “Will Israel be able to put a stop to these apartheid practices? Especially the rules that we would all sign under today. However, with the collapse of the institutions, the rules have also collapsed. In short, the global system is in a state of complete decay. It is obvious that we need extraordinary efforts to get rid of this decay.” “It is our duty to put forward a new, fair global political architecture and a fair economic architecture that will ensure economic justice in the world,” he said.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the dinner held in honor of the 152nd Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) General Assembly at Dolmabahçe Palace. Erdoğan briefly said the following in his speech here:

It is my great pleasure to host you in Türkiye on the occasion of the 152nd General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. I hope that the General Assembly, convened with the theme of “Growing hope for future generations, ensuring peace and ensuring justice”, will be beneficial for all humanity.

The international system established by the victors 80 years ago today faces a major crisis of legitimacy. Common sense is suspended, dialogue is disabled; In such an environment where diplomacy and negotiation are replaced by weapons, missiles and bombs, no one is safe. It is clear that no equation in which the regional countries are not the main actors can respond to the search for peace and security. The essence of the peace initiatives we have undertaken in Gaza, Ukraine, Iran, Africa and many other regions; It is a principled and realistic approach.

AID TO GAZA IS BEING BLOCKED

Although the international public opinion shows the will to stop the tragedies in the Middle East, we witness that governments are far behind at this point. While the world’s focus shifted to the war in Iran, thousands of people lost their lives in the attacks of the Israeli government in Palestine and Lebanon. The Israeli government, which is the biggest obstacle to peace and tranquility for its own people, Palestine and our region, does not stop and cannot be stopped despite all the efforts of the international community. The same violation of law and rule continues in Palestine. The Israeli administration, which does not comply with its commitments within the framework of the ceasefire, also prevents humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. Israel, which has openly voiced its plan to turn the West Bank into the new Gaza, is seeking to revive the shame of apartheid in South Africa, 32 years after its collapse, by imposing the death penalty on Palestinian prisoners. I invite all parliamentarians to join forces and raise the voice of peace in order to implement the two-state solution, which is the only formula for a just and lasting peace in Palestine, as soon as possible.

The conflict environment in our region is the biggest obstacle to the peace and stability that the Syrian people, who have been liberated after 13.5 years of oppression, deserve. Constructive and continuous support from international actors is needed in the recovery of Syria. We have, and will continue to provide, all the support we can to our Syrian brothers on the basis of national unity and territorial integrity.

A FAIR AND PERMANENT SOLUTION IS REQUIRED IN CYPRUS
It is high time to reach a fair, permanent and sustainable solution to the Cyprus issue, which has been on our agenda since 1963. From here, I once again call for an end to the unlawful isolation to which the Turkish Cypriots are subjected, and I would like to express that we expect your support in this regard. Dear guests, our Africa policy is shaped by the understanding of equal partnership; It is getting stronger day by day with the support of friendly and brotherly African countries. We support all diplomatic efforts to end instability in Sudan. In cooperation with our African friends, we will continue to provide all the support needed to help the continent achieve a brighter future.