National Assembly in March: Youth Issues Factsheet
This information note summarizes the prominent themes, discussions, and key data related to youth in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) for the month of March, based on the officially published parliamentary transcripts. In March, the main youth-related issue in Parliament was the use of democratic rights by young people following the events of March 19 and the severity of the interventions they faced. Opposition MPs called on the ruling party 46 times to listen to the demands of young people. AKP and MHP MPs, on the other hand, stated 5 times that the protests were criminalized by political parties, justifying the state’s intervention on these grounds.
In addition to this main topic, amendments to the Law on Youth and Sports Services and a proposed support package for third and subsequent children were discussed in Parliament during March. In this context, opposition MPs linked young people’s inability to marry to the economic difficulties they are experiencing. Moreover, the Law on Youth and Sports was criticized in Parliament both in terms of its content and its timing.
Key Themes
Youth Activism and State Interventions: The first MP to bring the democratic struggle of young people following the events of March 19 to Parliament was Ali Mahir Başarır from the CHP. Following Başarır, the issue of young people exercising their democratic rights, the violence they faced as a result, and their arrests without evidence was raised 45 times in Parliament (30 CHP, 8 DEM Party, 4 İYİ Party, 2 DEVA Party, 1 Felicity (Saadet) Party). DEM Party MPs emphasized that the practice of appointing trustees (kayyum) did not begin with March 19, while MPs from the İYİ Party, DEVA, and the Felicity Party stressed that these young people were not protesting solely for Ekrem İmamoğlu or the CHP, and that they were not “marginalized” youth (Cem Avşar, DEVA).
The economic hardships faced by young people were also mentioned in the context of the protests:
“When the young protesters are arrested, all they have in their pockets is their transportation card.” (Hasan Öztürk, CHP)
Claim of Criminalization of Protests: AKP and MHP MPs explained the state’s harsh interventions and the arrests of young people by claiming that the protests were criminalized by the CHP. This argument was made:
- 5 times by the AKP
- 1 time by the MHP
Amendment to the Law on Youth and Sports Services: The timing of the proposed law was criticized in Parliament (Hikmet Halim Yalıcı, CHP and Mustafa Kaya, Felicity (Saadet) Party). While the proposal received cross-party support for its provisions on youth assistance, it was also criticized for being insufficient in content and for including “youth” only in name (Necmettin Çalışkan and Mustafa Kaya, Felicity (Saadet) Party). CHP MPs generally did not address this proposal, instead focusing on youth activism. In the context of this bill, youth-related issues were discussed 6 times:
- Felicity (Saadet) Party: 3 times
- DEVA Party: 1 time
- İYİ Party: 1 time
- CHP: 1 time
Support Package for Third and Subsequent Children: In relation to this package, the topic of young people not marrying or being unable to marry was raised 7 times in the Turkish Parliament. While MPs considered the decline in fertility rates as alarming, opposition MPs attributed this to the economic difficulties young people face. By party:
- CHP: 2 times
- İYİ Party: 2 times
- DEVA Party: 1 time
- DEM Party: 1 time
- AKP: 1 time
Notable Data
Youth-related topics were brought up 92 times in the Turkish Grand National Assembly during the month of March. By party:
- CHP: 43 times
- DEM Party: 12 times
- İYİ Party: 11 times
- AKP: 8 times
- DEVA Party: 8 times
- Felicity (Saadet) Party: 8 times
- MHP: 1 time
The MPs who spoke most frequently on youth issues in March were Orhan Sümer and Murat Emir from CHP, Mehmet Emin Ekmen from DEVA Party, and Necmettin Çalışkan from the Felicity (Saadet) Party, each with 3 speeches.
Conclusion
In March, the parliamentary agenda on youth was primarily shaped by the protests involving young people. The main youth-related issue in Parliament was the expression of demands by young people through the exercise of their democratic rights, and the subsequent interventions and arrests they faced. In addition, the proposed amendments to the Law on Youth and Sports and the support package to be provided for third and subsequent children brought to the agenda the difficulties young people face in getting married and their uncertainties about the future.