Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek stated in his message that the War of Independence, which started with Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s arrival in Samsun on May 19, 1919, was the first step of the blessed march to the independent and sovereign Republic of Turkey and one of the most important turning points in history.

Stating that the torch of independence lit a century ago repelled the imperialist occupations with the perseverance and determination of the nation and illuminated the path to independence, Gürlek emphasized that today the goal is “to carry the ideal of a fully independent and strong Turkey to the future together with the TEKNOFEST generation with a free mind and a free conscience.”

“WE WILL CONTINUE OUR JOURNEY TO THE GREAT AND POWERFUL Türkiye WITH DETERMINATION”

Gürlek included the following statements in his message:

“On this meaningful day, I commemorate all the heroes of the War of Independence, our martyrs and veterans, especially Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, with mercy and gratitude. I congratulate our beloved youth and our beloved nation on the 19 May Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day. Under the leadership of our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, we will continue our journey towards a great and powerful Türkiye with determination.”

Our national struggle, which started with Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s arrival in Samsun on May 19, 1919, was the first step of our blessed march to the independent and sovereign Republic of Turkey and one of the most important turning points in our history.

That torch of independence lit a century ago… pic.twitter.com/Hi0PHb9N5D

— Akın Gürlek (@abakingurlek) May 18, 2026

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul stated that Türkiye has a significant influence in conflict zones and said, “It is extremely important for Germany to be in close consultation with Turkey on these issues. Germany attaches importance to the expansion of strategic relations between Turkey and the EU. If Turkey wants to become an EU member, Germany will be a reliable partner.”

Drawing attention to the far-reaching consequences of the war in Iran and the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, Wadephul said, “Today, many people are suffering in many parts of the world. The consequences are getting worse every day. Europe is ready to contribute to ensuring the security of the Strait of Hormuz. Together with the countries of the region, we will determine how to protect our security, economic and energy interests regarding this conflict. I am in very close contact with the countries of the region on this issue.”

Wadephul thanked Türkiye for its efforts to resolve the crises in the Iranian context. “We all agree that Iran should no longer pose a threat to its neighbors in the future. Therefore, Iran should not be allowed to have nuclear weapons. Iran should end its extensive missile program and policy of provocation in the region and make the Strait of Hormuz free and open to the passage of ships again,” Wadephul said.

“WE ARE FOR A TWO-STATE SOLUTION LIKE Türkiye”

Emphasizing that Turkey and Germany have the same concerns regarding Gaza, Wadephul said, “We are following different paths at some points, which is not a problem, but our goal is the same. We support the two-state solution as a solution to the problem between Israel and the Palestinians. We are also concerned about the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and we think more should be done there.”

Wadephul said, “People in the Gaza Strip are suffering. They need to have access to humanitarian supplies, including the supply of medicine. Opportunities must be created to send more humanitarian aid supplies to the Gaza Strip, and this must be done by road. We must do this right now. Although we have to manage many crises at the same time, we must not take our eyes off the Gaza Strip and the situation of the suffering people.”

While harshly criticizing Israel’s intervention in the Global Sumud Flotilla, Wadephul said, “At the same time, I must say that we recommend that actions such as the Gaza Flotilla be avoided. Because they are dangerous for the participants and so far, none of these ships have actually reached the Gaza Strip and aid supplies have not arrived. Therefore, these dangers are too great for us and we avoid them. However, this does not prevent us from agreeing that humanitarian aid should reach.”

“WE ARE GRATEFUL TO TURKEY FOR ITS RUSSIA-UKRAINE NEGOTIATION EFFORTS”

Noting that the biggest threat to Europe’s security is Russia’s war against Ukraine, Wadephul said, “Turkey has repeatedly stated that it is ready to be a mediator between Ukraine and Russia on this issue. Meetings were held in Istanbul and Turkey had previously played an active role in the negotiations and the grain agreement. We are very grateful for this.”

“We can only approach the end of this terrible war when Russia is finally ready to negotiate directly with Ukraine. Europeans have already begun to take a constructive and active role. We are ready, but Russia needs to be ready to negotiate seriously. It will be in the interest of the Russian people, who are suffering more and more from the consequences of the war, and the Russian economy, which is rapidly collapsing, to end this war,” Wadephul said.

Referring to the NATO Summit to be held in Ankara, Wadephul said, “Turkey impressively demonstrates that it assumes responsibility in these tense environments. The NATO Summit in Ankara in July puts Türkiye in a key position to further strengthen the alliance.”

Within the scope of the investigation that shook the CHP’s Tepebaşı Municipality, 25 suspects, including the municipal administrators and the Private Secretary of Tepebaşı Mayor Ahmet Ataç, were sent to the courthouse after their procedures at the police station. While the huge operation, in which there were detention orders for a total of 60 people, grew in waves, AK Party Eskişehir Provincial Chairman Gürhan Albayrak received a slap-like response to CHP Provincial Chairman Talat Yalaz, who was trying to cover up the facts. Albayrak exposed the profiteering scheme established in the municipality one by one and called on Mayor Ahmet Ataç to resign immediately.

“THE WALLS OF PERCEPTION THEY HAVE BUILT ARE BEING SHATTERED”

AK Party Provincial Chairman Gürhan Albayrak, who described the CHP’s provincial chairman’s attempt to use the judicial processes as a material for political heroism as “exemplary”, emphasized that the deceit of those who have been governing the city through front companies and dubious relations for years has been revealed. Albayrak used the following harsh expressions in his written statement:

“While allegations based on soup kitchen meals cooked for the benefit of the nation are being discussed, fake signature reports are evident, front companies and million-dollar money traffic are being investigated, no one should come out and give us ‘law’ and ‘victimhood’ speeches. They thought that the untouchable order they had created in Eskişehir for years would never be disrupted. They saw the city’s resources as the privileged area of ​​their circle. But now the showcase they established is being shattered.”

4 HARD QUESTIONS TO CHP’S INSINCERITY!

Albayrak stated that the CHP administration remained silent while the rights of the people of Eskişehir were being violated, but when it touched them, they jumped into the squares and asked the following questions to CHP Provincial Chairman Yalaz:

Where were you when the Wealth System was Established?: Where were you when those living in luxury villas and those who allegedly established a wealth system with the municipal power left Eskişehir abandoned?

Why Didn’t You Speak Out While Watching the Soup Kitchen Bites?: While allegations of irregularities worth millions of lira were being made over the soup kitchen morsel that would pass down the throat of the poor person, to whom was that “square” entrusted?

Who was the owner of Eskişehir when the personnel were being kicked out?: While allegations of fake signatures were being talked about in the municipal corridors and the personnel who wanted to warn were being kicked out by security, who was the “owner” of Eskişehir?

Don’t Allegations of Black Money Pain Your Conscience?: Are you disturbed by the images in front of the courthouse, but do the allegations of chain embezzlement, forgery of documents, MASAK reports and money laundering in the files not pain your conscience at all?

“AHMET ATAÇ MUST RESIGN IMMEDIATELY!”

Stating that what happened was not a political perception operation, but a struggle to protect the orphan’s livelihood and public resources, Albayrak also called for CHP’s Tepebaşı Mayor Ahmet Ataç to resign.

Albayrak said, “What needs to be done today is not to create arrogance, but to come out and be accountable to the public. Ahmet Ataç, who has been managing this municipality for more than 20 years, is now under this heavy political and conscientious responsibility. He should resign immediately in the face of these scandals and the point reached,” and stated that they will continue to defend the rights of the people of Eskişehir until the end.

Breaking news: The Cabinet Meeting held at the Presidential Complex under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has ended. Erdoğan made statements after the critical meeting where important issues were discussed.

Highlights from President Erdoğan’s speech:

We have completed another Cabinet Meeting where we evaluated the issues on our country’s agenda. May God have mercy on our 6 citizens who lost their lives in Mersin, and I wish a speedy recovery to our injured.

We are faced with a multi-layered uncertainty where inflation is climbing in many countries of the world and the blockage in the Strait of Hormuz cannot be overcome. The extent of the destruction caused by this shock wave cannot be estimated.

A handful of wild capitalists who control the hot money are growing stronger and adding to their wealth by literally grabbing the bite from the throats of billions of people. Their account books are growing every day. Every war produces its own economy.

Every war has winners and losers. With the Iran war, this issue has exceeded the limits of tolerance. Behind the unresolved crises in many parts of the world are major sabotage attempts by those who benefit from the crisis.

Important statements from President Erdoğan!

HARD REACTION TO THE OPPOSITION

The opposition has exploited the process for its political interests. They could not save themselves from acting with the logic of ‘Let the government wear out and Türkiye lose if necessary’. The opposition is pursuing cheap politics.

At a time when our region is going through a ring of fire, the opposition has to act as sensitively as we do.

No matter which wing of the political spectrum we are on, we have to act with the principle of my country first.

As our world becomes global, opportunities also gain a global dimension… In the new world, no one has to remain indifferent to what is happening elsewhere on the earth.

Türkiye has become the island of stability in its region. Our country will continue on its way much stronger than before.

“A NEW ROAD WILL OPEN FOR Türkiye”

Once we get rid of the shackles of terrorism, a new path will open for Türkiye. There will be no coming back from this.

In his statement, Beyaz stated that he tried to do politics with an understanding that does not disrespect his past, his struggle and the values ​​he believes in at the İYİ Party, where he served as the founding Istanbul Provincial Chairman in 2017.

Stating that the strong claim of the İYİ Party in its establishment did not have the expected effect, Beyaz said:

“Our people are of the opinion that there is a significant distance between our expectations for a political breakthrough and the current approach, and that priority is given to maintaining the current political understanding instead of a new vision that will respond to changing social and political needs. Observing that the gap between the values we represent and the current functioning is widening day by day in the face of this situation, has created a deep contradiction between my political responsibility and my personal opinion. This incompatibility between the principles we believe in and the actual reality prevents me from continuing my political activities under the umbrella of the İYİ Party.” “In this context, I respectfully inform our beloved nation and the public that I have resigned from my membership in the İYİ Party.”

“WE WILL NOT GIVE BONUSES TO THOSE WHO USE EVERY OPPORTUNITY FOR PLEASURE MONKEYING”

Finally, you once again enabled the implementation of Türkiye’s first electric vehicle, Togg. Togg, which has taken the leadership seat with a 35 percent market share in the country, continues to decorate the roads in many European countries. However, I regret to present this issue to you and our nation. While we are trying to break down the walls of learned helplessness that have been imposed on Türkiye for decades, some people are constantly putting obstacles in our way in this process. We have never taken into account those who use every opportunity they get to preach goodness, and we will not give them any bonuses from now on. We will continue to achieve new successes in the same way that we responded to those who asked, “What do they know about producing automobiles?”

We are about to leave behind almost a quarter of a century on the path of serving the nation and the country. Since the first day we took over the responsibility of governing Türkiye, we have acted and continue to act with the awareness that we carry the responsibility of every member of our nation on our shoulders. In the last 22.5 years, with the support of you and our beloved nation, we have taken Türkiye to the next level in every field, from education to health, from transportation to trade, from agriculture to security. We have given a solid structure to our economy, which we have built on four pillars: investment, employment, production and export.

“WE CONTINUE TO WRITE SUCCESS STORIES IN EXPORT”

Protectionist tendencies are on the rise on a global scale and commercial competition is becoming increasingly harsh; At a time when wars and conflicts followed water, climate, food and energy crises, we made the Turkish economy resilient to shocks. Look, I would like to remind you here, my dear brothers, of some figures that you know very well. Despite the conflicts in our region, we grew our economy by 4.5 percent last year, reaching 1.1 trillion dollars and per capita national income to 13 thousand 110 dollars. We increased our foreign trade volume to 617 billion dollars and our exports of goods and services to 361 billion dollars. We will exceed 400 billion dollars in the very near future, God willing. We continue to write a success story, especially in exports. Last month, our exports broke the April record by reaching 19.3 billion dollars, an increase of 13.6 percent compared to the same month of the previous year. This figure was also recorded as the highest monthly value in the history of our Republic. This increase recorded in April showed that Türkiye’s exports maintained their strong momentum despite the difficulties caused by war and crises.

We exported 82.9 billion dollars in the January-April period of 2024. Our annualized goods exports increased by 2.5 percent to 257.6 billion dollars in 2024. Our services exports, which were 14 billion dollars in 2002, increased 7 times to 101.7 billion dollars in 2023. Our services trade surplus amounted to 52.5 billion dollars in 2023, and this amount made a strong contribution to our current account balance. Türkiye has become the sixth country in the world with the highest surplus in services trade. Our defense and aerospace exports exceeded 5.5 billion dollars last year. At the SAHA EXPO 2024 fair, 123 agreements with a total business volume of 6.2 billion dollars, 4.3 billion dollars of which were export-oriented, were signed.

“OUR UNEMPLOYMENT RATE CONTINUES ITS SINGLE-DIGITAL COURSE”

We further reinforce the momentum we have achieved in exports with tourism and employment figures. We hosted 56.7 million visitors in 2023 and earned 54.3 billion dollars in tourism income. We increased our tourism income by 5.4 percent in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching 8 billion 784 million dollars. We reduced our unemployment rate to 8.6 percent. We increased our employment to 32.5 million people and our employment rate to 49.5 percent. While our labor force participation rate increased to 54.2 percent, our unemployment rate continues to remain in single digits. Foreign investors, who are aware of the potential of the Turkish economy, have established 89 thousand companies in our country in the last 21 years and invested 262 billion dollars. These investors also provided employment to 1 million 300 thousand people and exported 70 billion dollars a year, thus bringing foreign currency to our country.

While we are saying all this, we are of course aware that not everything is rosy. We know the pressure that temporary price increases resulting from regional and global developments put on both our citizens and the real sector. You are the closest witness to this fact: During our governments, we never saw the economy as consisting only of data, graphs and figures. We have always listened to your opinions, suggestions and even criticism while creating and implementing our economic policies. We provided the picture of the economy that the indicators tell us with the bazaar, the market, the stories of the tradesmen, farmers, industrialists and producers.

“WE FACE AN OPPORTUNISTIC PRICING HABIT”

Today, with all actors of the economy; We are in sincere communication with employers, entrepreneurs, laborers, farmers, tradesmen and craftsmen. Today, we try to keep the pulse of the street, the bazaar and the market. I want you to know that our economic management is taking every precaution to minimize the stress experienced by the market and will continue to do so. We will continue to follow this and provide necessary guidance in line with the suggestions, findings and criticisms we receive from you. On the other hand, we are faced with an opportunistic pricing habit that cannot be explained by the increase in production and transportation costs. While Türkiye today has the lowest input costs in Europe in many areas, especially energy, it is obvious that if there are disproportionate increases in the prices of some products, this cannot be explained by market conditions. In other words, some people are reaching into the pockets, purses and earnings of our citizens with exorbitant prices, citing fluctuations in input costs.

However, our business and trade ethics have been shaped by the thousand-year-old Ahi tradition. In this tradition, there is no place for taking advantage of opportunity, gaining unfair advantage, imitation, adulteration and self-interest-oriented acting. On the contrary; Ahiism means solidarity, helping each other, and equating God’s consent with the goodness, benefit and well-being of the people. That’s why we determinedly continue our inspections against opportunists in the market. I would especially like to express that I expect support from you on this issue. With these thoughts, I wholeheartedly congratulate our brothers who will receive service honor certificates and plaques. I greet you all with love and respect and wish you continued success.