The tenth Constitution Platform Citizens’ Assembly, held in Trabzon, had the highest level of participation so far.

TRABZON – The tenth meeting of the Citizens’ Assembly series, carried out under the secretariat of TEPAV with the initiative of the Constitution Platform consisting of syndicates, professional organizations and civil society organizations, was held in Trabzon on Saturday, 7 April 2012. The meeting had the highest level of participation among the series so far. In terms of women’s participation, however, the city recorded the lowest rate after Diyarbakir.

Delivering the opening speech at the meeting held at the Trabzon World Trade Center, TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu expressed his appreciation for the high level of participation at the event. Reminding the crowd of Turkey’s target to become a top ten economy by 2023, the centennial anniversary of the Republic, he said:

“What does this mean? It means that every member of this country will be richer. We will raise the per capita income to $25,000. Each citizen of this country will live at standards on a par with those of European citizens. Because this nation deserves it. We don’t have a single minute to waste. However, the current system is no longer compatible with these goals. We need a new constitution to reach our goals.”

“We have banded together for the new constitution”
“Prosperity and plenty in unity; anguish in dissent,” said Hisarcıklıoğlu and went on, “We’ve come together with 21 professional organizations, syndicate confederations and civil society organizations to create the Constitution Platform. Among us are businessmen, workers, artisans, public servants and retirees. All of these organizations have different ideas and world views; all of them have different goals. If you were to ask, we would all say different things. However, we’ve come together for the future of this country. We have blended together during the new constitution process.”

Stressing the need to build a new system that would render the people freer and richer and the government stronger, he continued: “we must construct a new system, the justice of which is trusted by all, the future of which is believed in by all, a system which ensures the freedom of thought, religion and conscience and the freedom of enterprise. The foundation of that system will be the new constitution.”

During the meeting, representatives from the civil society organizations and syndicates that are involved or that support the Constitution Platform as well as four members of the Constitution Committee to represent each political party delivered speeches. In this context, BDP MP Altan Tan, MHP MP Oktay Öztürk, AK Party MP Mehmet Ali Şahin and CHP MP Volkan Canialioğlu delivered remarks.

Stating that the constitution represents citizens’ demands from the state, Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek said:

''We cannot speak on behalf of our citizens about their expectations and demands. This is why we have been traveling all around Turkey and holding these meetings. We are here to hear to your demands, thoughts and what you expect from the state. The atmosphere here is much more important than everything else. This is an atmosphere that Turkey needs. Among us here are professional organizations with conflicting interests. We have representatives of workers and employers together. We have civil servants and public sector representatives side by side. We have representatives from all of the four political parties in the Parliament. The representatives of these political parties never have joined together except during these meetings. This is our failure, but the atmosphere here successfully depicts how we will solve problems from now on.”

Construction analogy to deliver the message
Stressing that all sections of society demanded a new constitution, Çiçek pointed at the experience in this regard. Emphasizing that the current constitution had been amended seventeen times, he added:

“The Black Sea is the pioneer of the construction sector in Turkey. Say that you constructed a building but the roof leaks, the walls are cracked, and the doors and windows do not match, so you have to repair it continuously. Can you live in such a building in peace? Similarly, the seventeen amendments to the constitution over the last three decades have failed to make both ends meet. Thus, we need a new constitution.”

Following the opening session, the participants discussed and voted on the options regarding the new constitution.