HÜDA PAR: Turkish parliament must not evade responsibility on crimes against humanity

Detailing the proposed amendments to the Citizenship Law, Ramanlı explained: "In December 2023, we submitted a bill to strip the citizenship of dual citizens who are currently committing crimes against humanity on Zionist fronts and to allow the prosecution of the leaders of the Zionist gang with a parliamentary decision. As you know, crimes against humanity and genocide are bound by an international treaty to which Türkiye is a party. According to this treaty, member countries are obliged to effectively combat genocide and crimes against humanity. Our Turkish Penal Code already prescribes certain penalties for crimes that can be classified as genocide and crimes against humanity, and our legislation is aligned with this. However, such an investigation can only be initiated at the request of the Minister of Justice, and the Minister has not made any such request to the Public Prosecutors in the past nine months. No investigation has been initiated in our country against the leaders of the Zionist gang. Since our country is under international obligations regarding crimes against humanity and genocide and has committed to effectively combating these crimes, why have we waited for nine months? Why are we still hesitant to take action and not taking concrete steps?"

Ramanlı continued his remarks as follows: "The bill to be discussed in the General Assembly tomorrow aims to allow investigations not only at the request of the Minister of Justice but also by a decision of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, enabling the Public Prosecutors to take action. The first part of our bill addresses this. The second part, as I mentioned earlier, includes a provision for revoking the citizenship and confiscating the assets of those who, whether Turkish citizens or dual citizens, are currently participating in massacres against innocent civilians on Zionist fronts and transferring these assets to the family and youth fund."

Ramanlı urged all MPs to support the bill. "In recent weeks, we have approached all parties represented in the Parliament, whether they have a group or not, and sought their support for our bill. We know that all MPs under the roof of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye share the same thoughts, sentiments, and sensitivity regarding Palestine. We may have differences in rhetoric, but we are united on the common ground of humanity, Palestine, and Gaza. Therefore, we hope that all MPs will support our bill unanimously in the General Assembly tomorrow, taking the initiative for it to become law. We expect, hope, and wish that it will be as we desire."

Ramanlı emphasized the importance of parliamentary responsibility, stating: "The Grand National Assembly of Türkiye must not evade this responsibility. The crimes against humanity and genocide committed against Palestine and Gaza today could be perpetrated against people of different races, religions, and languages in another part of the world tomorrow. If we have tied this to the request of the Ministry of Justice just to maintain intergovernmental relations, it is certainly possible to initiate these investigations with a decision by the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, which has the authority to even declare war. The Assembly has this authority, and the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye must not evade this responsibility. Because we are here on behalf of our nation, representing our people, and there is no place for genocide or mercy for genocide criminals in our nation's collective conscience. Therefore, we want to take the step that our people and the collective conscience of humanity necessitate."

"We submitted our proposal to the Presidency of the Assembly in the last week of December. According to the regulations, bills that are not discussed in the committees within 45 days can be brought to the General Assembly with the signature of the proposers. We had actually requested it to be brought to the General Assembly a few months ago because the cost and losses of the genocide crime continue to increase, making it more difficult to deal with. The Assembly has its own work schedule, and it was decided to bring it to the General Assembly tomorrow within this schedule. Tomorrow, we will present our bill to the General Assembly, where we will also explain our justifications. Our President will explain why this bill needs to become law, and then there will be a vote. We expect all MPs present in the Assembly tomorrow to vote in favor of our bill,” Ramanlı added. (ILKHA)