After attending the opening ceremony for the start of the new academic year at İstanbul University on Monday, President Gül returned to Ankara and allocated the next two days to the preparation of the text of his keynote address to Parliament.
Final refinements were made to the text of the speech. Gül did not have any official program on his agenda for the next two days. The president's keynote speech will be short and concise, and in it he is expected to emphhasize critical issues on the country's agenda. His speech is expected to give four important messages to parliamentarians. The president will leave room for the democratic initiative, launched by the government to settle the Kurdish issue. He will underline that diversities are assets and that the unity and integrity of the country should be preserved by embracing everyone living in the country.
Atatürk's 1932 speech A video recording of the speech delivered by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk during the opening ceremony of Parliament on Nov. 1, 1932 has been posted on the official website of the Presidency of the Turkish Republic. In this six-minute black and white video, Atatürk is shown to address the deputies. In the beginning of his speech, Atatürk refers to the great economic crisis, saying, "The tragedies and problems created by international political and economic crises continue." He not only tries to boost the morale of the nation, but also touches on foreign policy issues. "Our relations with our neighbors and other nations are improving with the idea of having serious and sincere peace and security," he says. The precedent of presidents giving speeches at the opening of Parliament was set by Atatürk and has been maintained through today. |
Another keyword in the president's speech will be reform. President Gül will point out that the reform process should be not derailed, and in particular that Parliament should pass the judiciary reform, which is specifically needed for any progress with respect to the country's EU bid.
As he did during his speech last year, President Gül will also voice the need for continuing to form and pass constitutional amendments. "They should reinforce national unity and social solidarity. They should provide guarantees for fundamental rights and freedoms. They should be all-inclusive. They should strongly reinforce the democratic and secular state governed by rule of law," he had said, referring to the constitutional amendments that Parliament should make.
President Gül will also stress the importance of the EU membership process. Having underlined the Parliament and the government's need to accelerate reforms, Gül is expected to allocate a considerable part of his speech to foreign policy affairs and place emphasis on recent foreign policy initiatives.
