Rose sellers offered Gül roses while on his way to the teahouse. As he was chatting with the locals in the teahouse Gül said he had always wanted to stop there while passing by in his car rushing somewhere, but was unable to. “I am very glad to be here with you today,” the president said. The president also responded to questions from reporters on issues dominating the country's agenda.
When asked his opinion of a recent proposal by main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu to abolish Article 35 of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) Internal Service Law, Gül replied: “When you read this article carefully, in fact, it does not give any authority to anybody other than Parliament. But, to be honest, this article is being abused. That’s why this article should be taken up when Parliament reconvenes after its summer recess [in October].”
Many coup plotters in the past used Article 35 of the Internal Service Code as a justification when intervening in politics and said this article gives the military the authority to protect the Turkish Republic. The president underlined that the task of protecting the Turkish Republic cannot belong to any institution other than Parliament. “This issue can also be reviewed just like Turkey has recently been reviewing all its democratic standards,” he said. Gül left the teahouse in his car amidst applause from locals.
