Yılmaz Büyükerşen... Prof. Dr... 89 years old... He served five consecutive terms as Metropolitan Mayor in Eskişehir. 1999-2024. One of the brand names of local politics. In his career... He was a rector, and also RTÜK Chairman. He was the Chairman of the Council unanimously elected at the 36th Ordinary Congress of the CHP. A teacher of teachers. He is a friend of mine... May God grant him a healthy long life. I asked: - Sir, do you watch television in the evenings? - Don't ask.
- The question left my mouth once... I will write your answer. - Of course I watch. I definitely watch... Every night. - What do you think while watching? - I think, am I hallucinating... Or is it a dream? A 103-year-old party... Can it be? Are such things done? *** FROM YESTERDAY TO TODAY Old CHP... New CHP... You saw İsmet İnönü and also worked in politics with Bülent Ecevit... What has changed from yesterday to today?
What hasn't changed? I don't know how to say it... There used to be banter in politics... Subtle wit... Satire. You see what's happening... They made us forget all of it... Sour faces... Fights... Insults... *** BIRTHDAY How did 25 years in politics go by? Büyükerşen Hoca said, 'Thank God... With a clear conscience': - Five terms... And I was elected each term by increasing my vote... Easy to say, a quarter century. And...
He recounted a memory from the time tunnel: - I don't know what a birthday is... I forget... For years, on the morning of November 8, my phone would ring... I would answer... Süleyman Demirel on the line... He would congratulate my birthday. - Well... After all... You're both Scorpios. The teacher laughed: - True... But you're also one of us... From the Scorpio sign. *** THE TEACHER... AND HIS STUDENTS Whose teacher were you? Are there any among your students who are in politics today?
- I lived in Eskişehir... But... I came to Ankara once a week to teach... There are so many politicians among my students... Which one should I name? Yes, there are those who are in politics today. *** HAYDAR HAYDAR I'm not the only one asking questions... At one point Büyükerşen asked: - Do you know the folk song Haydar Haydar? - Of course... It's a work by Nesimi... A centuries-old song... There's no artist who hasn't performed it on stage.
- Then listen to it again today. - Why? - The song says... Sometimes I rise to the sky, and watch the world... Sometimes I descend to the earth, and the world watches me. - Yes... What's in these words? - These words describe the current state of the CHP. I burst out laughing: - Sir... Truly, you're something else. - You listen anyway... Listen carefully to my words. *** PUNISHMENT I've known him for years... He's very successful at anger management.
I've never heard a bad word from his mouth. - Sir... When you get very angry, what is the harshest word you say? - I rarely say it but... When I've really had it... I say... 'May God punish you.' I can't issue punishment... I leave the punishing to God. *** INSHALLAH I was in Eskişehir the other day... I went with Cemil Çiçek. We returned the same day... There was no time to call Büyükerşen Hoca. Yesterday...
As we ended the phone conversation, the teacher said: - Come... Don't be late... Let's talk face to face... Let's pour out our hearts... I missed you. - I missed you too, Sir... I will come... Inshallah. *** BÜYÜKERŞEN... KILIÇDAROĞLU... AND ÖZEL Yılmaz Hoca... An elder statesman in politics. A repository of experience... The big brother of those in the left neighborhood. - Sir... Do Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and Özgür Özel call you? Do they ask? Do you say 'Don't do it, you are brothers' and such?
- No... They don't call... And they won't call. - Why wouldn't they call? Both of them call you 'Hocam'... They call you 'Brother'... They respect you. - Yes, that's true... But... I think they are afraid to call me. - Sir... You are not someone to be afraid of. - Thank you... I suspect... They are afraid that I will scold them... So they hold back. *** DISCIPLINE IS NECESSARY... BUT... We are not in a position to give anyone advice...
Everyone has their own wisdom... But if a few words need to be said... The CHP must put an end to throwing people out of the window. Discipline... Expulsion... Happens when necessary, of course. A thief, you put them out the door. A bribe-taker... Dirtied up to their throat... You kick them out. However... Activating the disciplinary mechanism because someone criticized... Is wrong. At the 9th Congress of the CHP... Hıfzı Oğuz Bekata took the podium...
November 26, 1951: - The Turkish nation loves openness and honesty... Democracy cannot be manifested by orders from the center. Party Chairman İsmet İnönü did not get angry... He didn't refer Bekata to the disciplinary board... Did not expel him. Ten years later... In 1961... İsmet İnönü became Prime Minister... He first made Hıfzı Oğuz Bekata Minister of State... And then Minister of Interior. *** MANY EXAMPLES If you wish... One more example... From the 16th Congress of the CHP.
Nihat Erim criticized the administration: 'Don't use inquisition methods.' Discipline... Warning... Expulsion... Never.
