In the statement made by the Directorate of Communications, the following statements were made:

Our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, had a telephone conversation with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Leaders discussed regional and global issues, especially Türkiye-Italy bilateral relations and the course of the conflict process in our region. During the meeting, our President stated that they are working to further the Türkiye-Italy cooperation in every field, especially trade.

President Erdoğan stated that Türkiye is closely following the developments in Iran and their reflections on the region, and that the necessary suggestions have been made to the parties to avoid steps that increase instability. Our President stated that, as Türkiye, we advocate strengthening the basis for diplomacy, that the international community should work together for this, and that the conflictual process carries risks that will endanger global security. President Erdoğan stated that the conflicts taking place in our region and the world once again reveal the importance of NATO allies increasing their cooperation, especially in the defense industry.

DETAILS COMING…

Istanbul Technical University students met at the 7th traditional iftar event held at ITU Ayazağa Campus. In the program attended by thousands of university students, the area was colored with decorations and lighting and was crowned with the verse “Believers are brothers”. While more than 50 tables were set up in the area, thousands of young people broke their fast together and performed the evening prayer collectively after iftar. The traditional iftar event, held every year, was held with a different enthusiasm this year.

“I WOULD KEEP MY FAST ALONE”

BAYKAR Chairman of the Board of Directors Selçuk Bayraktar and National Defense University Rector Erhan Afyoncu also participated in the program and broke their fast with the students. Bayraktar, himself an ITU graduate, addressed the young people in the field after the iftar.

Bayraktar talked about the months of Ramadan, which he spent with difficulty abroad during his university years, with the following words: “When I go back years ago, I graduated from ITU and was working as a research assistant abroad. Of course, the Ramadan season would coincide again. We would fast, but alone. There was no one around…

“YOU MAKE ME HOPE”

It was time for iftar. I will never forget, we would break our fast with a slice of pizza and a soft drink at the food court. Alone, of course. Now I thank God that He showed me these days. Together with you, thousands of my young brothers and sisters, we celebrate and observe Ramadan together, in a brotherly and friendly manner, at the same table. Just like a festival. Indeed, it always makes me grateful for today and gives me hope for the future, in this dark situation the world is dragged into.”

The National Intelligence Organization (MİT) destroyed the DAESH cell that was preparing sabotage actions in Damascus. 3 DAESH members were captured in the operation carried out as a result of MİT’s intelligence sharing. A bomb-laden vehicle was neutralized. As a result of the intelligence shared by MİT with Syrian security and intelligence units, DAESH cell members and their connections operating in Damascus were monitored. Members of the organization named Ömer Hashim, Muhammed Hamed and Hüseyin Halef were captured during the operation. Bomb disposal experts neutralized the bomb vehicle, which was prepared to be detonated remotely and left at a critical point. During the inspection of the vehicle, C4 and TNT plastic explosives that would cause large-scale destruction were seized. After the completion of the interrogation procedures, the 3 captured suspects were referred to the anti-terrorism unit within the Syrian General Intelligence Service in order to reveal their possible connections with the people supporting the cell. In a voice recording shared by DAESH last week, it was stated that members of the organization were instructed to prepare for action.

It was revealed that the CHP municipality in Yalova’s Çiftlikköy district demanded 23 grams of gold from the tradesmen instead of money as the occupation fee, and the tradesmen made the payment in gold. Celal Balcı, who has been operating a small-scale amusement park in the municipality’s area since 2013, said that in the meeting held at the beginning of the 2024 summer season, the occupation fee was determined as 60 thousand TL, but a few days later, the municipal police officer came and said, “We want you to make the payment in 23 grams of gold.

“Mayor Adil Yele will use it as jewelry in events such as weddings, circumcisions and births,” he said. Balcı then claimed that he delivered 23 grams of gold to the staff in the mayor’s office, but no receipt was given for the delivery. Balcı said that he repeatedly requested a collection receipt verbally and in writing, but his request was left unanswered.

Tradesman Balcı, who recently encountered an eviction notice, was surprised at what happened. In the official letter from the municipality, it was stated that there was an occupation debt of 113 thousand 273 TL for 2024 and that the area should be evacuated within 3 days. Balcı, who also saw that interest exceeding 50 thousand liras was charged along with the late payment penalty, went to Çiftlikköy Mayor Adil Yele’s office and wanted to meet. However, Balcı said that he was kicked out by being told to “Go wherever you want and complain” and added, “I gave 23 grams of gold and also ended up in debt.” Balcı said that he filed a complaint against Mayor Yele and the relevant police officer.

During its visit to the Sancaktepe district in Istanbul, where disadvantaged families are concentrated and gangs recruit members, the GNAT Commission on Children Driven to Crime listened to the district governor, district director of national education, school principals and guidance counselors, and received information about projects for children at risk of being dragged into crime.

District Governor Naif Yavuz said, “Sancaktepe is a region where disadvantaged families are concentrated; therefore, it is a district that is especially watched and pursued by evil groups.”

District Director of National Education Sadık Aslan said, “We aimed to reach our students with a system that we can call ‘coach system’. We started the project in high schools last year with the support of our philanthropists. One teacher coaches two students voluntarily. In the first stage, we supported these teachers with 2 thousand liras each with the contribution of philanthropists. We said, ‘Eat with the children, go to the cafe, go to the cinema, do activities’, but I am sure that this money we gave was a lifeline, our teachers spent more money. Our goal is to support the school. To bring back to life and school those who have a lot of absenteeism, who have no connection with school and life, and who are hanging on by a thread.

This year, our district governor embraced the project and said, ‘Let’s expand the institutions.’ We work with our municipality, the Ministry of Family and other relevant stakeholders. We enrolled students who wanted to take courses in sports, and students who wanted to take courses in an art branch. Our teachers had breakfast with our children, organized trips, and went to the movies. When we listened to the students and teachers, we found that the project was really useful. “This year it continues at full speed,” he said.

Stating that the students expressed their reactions by saying, “For the first time, I was treated like a human being, for the first time my opinion was valued,” Aslan said that 8-10 students from each school in Sancaktepe took part in the project.

257 ASSIGNMENTS IN 39 DISTRICTS

Istanbul Deputy Governor Serap Özmen Çetin gave information about ‘Homework’, another project aimed at preventing children from being dragged into crime. Stating that there are 257 homework houses in 39 districts across Istanbul and more than 30 thousand students benefit from these homework houses, Çetin stated that the aim of the project is to eliminate the risk of school absenteeism and drop-out and to protect young people and children from bad habits and that they have a target of 500 homework houses.

Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Numan Kurtulmuş, met with the rectors at iftar. Making evaluations about the US-Israel-Iran war, Kurtulmuş said:

There is an attack on Iran. The UN Security Council is meeting. Nobody cares whether it is collected or not. Because the UN Security Council is no different from a cafe in New York. This disorderly, ruleless world is becoming a world where those who fall cannot get back up. That’s why the old saying goes, don’t fall once.

We, as the Turkish nation, will not fall, we will survive, and together, with God’s permission, we will be one of the greatest nations in the world. Those who hold the power and feel entitled to use this power as they wish are telling all the countries in the region that if you do not walk in the direction we say, it will be your turn.

We, as a nation, will never accept such a wrong scenario. We have to be alert against all kinds of difficulties and difficulties and know that we are obliged to speak out for right and justice even if we are the last people on earth. Regarding the process of a liberated, terror-free Turkey, he said, “Stay involved in this process. Bring together the ideals of the terror-free Turkey issue with the people of the region and the city, and hopefully we will all leave this process behind and continue our struggle to make our eternal brotherhood eternal.”