Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

The conclusion report of the Citizens’ Constitution Meetings, which took place in 13 provinces, held by the civil society organizations which make up the Constitution Platform with the secretariat of the TEPAV was presented to the Speaker of the TBMM Cemil Çiçek to be delivered to the TBMM Negotiation Council Commission.

Attending the ceremony were the Speaker of the TBMM Cemil Çiçek, TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu and the members of the Constitution Platform.

The Citizens’ Constitution Meetings were held in Ankara, Konya, Edirne, Diyarbakır, İzmir, Ankara (attended exclusively by women), Antalya, Samsun, Bursa, Trabzon, Gaziantep, Erzurum and İstanbul, attended by approximately 6,500 people.

TBMM Speaker Cemil Çiçek, members of TBMM Consitution Negotiation Commision, representatives of AKP, CHP, MHP and BDP, TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, members of the Constitution Platform, national and local NGO representatives as well as randomly selected citizens were brought together during the meetings in order to get a complete view of the citizens’ wishes regarding the new constitution in an environment of neutral and free discussion.

Speaking at the conclusion report ceremony, TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu drew attention to the fast shifting balance of recent years and the speed at which Turkey is developing and said, “It is no longer to be a regional power for us. We aim to become a global power. Today, Turkey is the world’s 16th largest economy. It is my heartfelt belief that we will become bigger and more powerful because we have the courage, persistence and the resolution. Our goal is to be one of the ten largest economies in the world by the centennial anniversary of our Republic. Our goal is to be a country where our citizens are richer and happier. For this, Turkey urgently needs a new constitution. We came together with this knowledge in 2007.”

- Constitution discussed by civil society

Stating that they’ve created an environment where civil society is able to freely discuss constitutional matters, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that they’ve been working on the constitution all this time. The TOBB President related how they traveled with 22 civil society organizations for the new constitution and said, “There are employers and workers among us, craftsmen and public servants and retirees. Organizations with many differing world views, lives and wishes have come together. We have come together for the future of the children of our country. All of our hearts beat for a stronger Turkey.”

Stating that the National Assembly has come together for the same reason, Hisarcıklıoğlu said:

“The honor of creating the new constitution will fall to the 24th term of the TBMM. This government carries both the honor and the duty of it. The new constitution owes both its contents and the manner in which it was written to TURKEY. All political parties reached a consensus during the last elections regarding a new constitution. The political parties represented now in the TBMM are represented in equal numbers in the Constitution Negotiation Commission today. The pre-condition of discussion is that it be held on an even field. This is why we put such importance on this commission. As the Constitution Platform, it is not our job to make the new constitution. Writing it up is definitely not our job. Our job is to facilitate the work of the political parties honored with the duty of forming the new constitution. It is to support politics in removing obstacles.

With this awareness, we have taken to the road as the Constitution Platform. We’ve held 13 Citizens’ Constitution Meetings throughout the country in order to spread the environment of discussion engendered in the Constitution Negotiation Commission to the whole country. With the method we used during the meetings we accomplished a first in Turkey. Those attending the meetings were citizens we randomly called via their cell phones. We met with the people with no middlemen. In groups of 10, strangers who had never before met each other but who had a say in the future of this country discussed the constitution for hours. We asked the attendees approximately 50 questions. The questions were regarding recent constitutional matters, selected in order to avoid inducement. The questions were designed as a tool to encourage discussion, understanding and compromise rather than act only as a survey.

These weren’t just yes or no questions. These were questions aiming to drag out the ‘but’s of the people who said yes to where these reservations could be discussed. Records of these discussions were carefully kept. Thanks to the Citizens’ Constitution Meetings we have attained a set of data which is far more detailed than any opinion survey. Now, we are delivering the records of these discussions to the TBMM and the Constitution Negotiation Commission.”

- Everyone expects a new constitution

Stating that the demand for a new constitution is immense, TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu said that a new constitution is being awaited eagerly in the four corners of Anatolia. “70% of the attendees stated that they are not content with the present constitution. This figure doesn’t really mean much. We are more concerned with why they don’t like it, what parts of it they don’t like and what kind of changes they want. Therefore these 15,000 pages are very important. Every line of text is a treasure as every line is an idea of one of our citizens.”

- “The results of the negotiations should be taken note of in the writing process”

Hisarcıklıoğlu went on, “So, today, we are presenting you with a unique set of data for consideration. Our wish is that the results of the negotiations be taken note of during the writing process. That was the wish of all the citizens who spent their time as constitution volunteers. We were always asked, ‘Are our opinions going to matter?’ We will closely follow these requests as the Constitution Platform. We want them to be taken note of.

We think that, those honored with the duty of writing the Constitution should assess this data themselves. For that reason, we will not be assessing this unique set of data. We think it should be done directly by those who will be writing the constitution. We will act accordingly again when we are needed to gather data and information. We know that the political parties have started intense work on this data. We believe that it is their debt and duty to have the Constitution ready by the end of the year. We want a new constitution. We expect the contents of it to be different from those which preceded it.”
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