REPUBLIC OF TÜRKİYE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

MINISTER TUNÇ: AS THE TURKIC WORLD, WE WILL ALWAYS DEFEND RIGHT, EQUITY AND JUSTICE

Speaking at the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Justice of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç said, “As the Turkic world, we will always defend right, equity and justice wherever it is.”.

Minister Tunç, who attended the meeting organized at the Palace of Independence in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, said, “We aim to make the Turkic world stronger in every field, more resilient and durable with the motto ‘Our unity is our strength’.

WE ARE DETERMINED TO TAKE STEPS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO PEACE AND TRANQUILITY FOR HUMANITY

Expressing his great pleasure to be in Astana, the shining star of Asia, Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç said: “I sincerely believe that the consultations that will ensure the continuation of this beautiful unity will further strengthen the communication ties between the judicial boards of our countries.”

Minister Tunç said, “Today, as in the past, we stand side by side and shoulder to shoulder in full brotherhood. We are determined to take steps that contribute to peace and tranquillity for humanity with the motto of our President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, ‘A fairer world is possible’.”

Emphasizing that they will continue to strengthen unity and solidarity as brotherly countries for this purpose, Minister of Justice Tunç said: “We are the branches of a great plane tree coming from the same root spreading over a wide geography. If we reinforce our unity without forgetting this foundation, we will undoubtedly increase our power in the world.”

Minister of Justice Tunç emphasized that the member states of the OTS attach importance to the deepening and development of cooperation in the fields of justice and judiciary, as well as in political, cultural, economic, commercial and military fields.

WE HAVE DONE IMPORTANT WORK TO INCREASE OUR COOPERATION

Reminding that they adopted the “Turkic World Vision 2040 Document” together at the 8th OTS Summit held in İstanbul in 2021, where the 30th anniversary of the independence of the Turkic states was celebrated, Minister Tunç said, “In line with this vision, in the last 10 years, we have carried out important work within the Organization of Turkic States to increase our cooperation regarding high judicial boards, high courts, chief public prosecutors, justice academies, lawyers and notaries.”

Pointing out that as the Turkic world, it is necessary to further advance international judicial cooperation, Minister of Justice Tunç said, “I sincerely believe that our judicial cooperation will be carried further with the joint declaration we will sign soon.”.

Touching on the fight against terrorism, Minister Tunç reminded that the coup attempt of the Fethullahist Terrorist Organisation (FETÖ) on July 15, 2016 was failed under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and with the honourable resistance of the nation.

TERRORISM IS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY

Touching on terrorism, the Minister of Justice Yılmaz TUNÇ carried on his speech as follows;

“Terrorism is a crime against humanity. A large portion of counter-terrorism within the scope of the law is clearly composed of the extradition requests between countries, in other words legal assistance requests. Until now, we have sincerely abided by our obligations, arising from international law, in relation to legal cooperation. We will still continue to abide by these obligations with the same seriousness and determination but I want to emphasize that we especially expect the same point of view from the Turkic states, with whom we have so many common ties such as history and culture, just as we expect it from the world.”

WE SEE THAT INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW IS EITHER IGNORED OR APPLIED WITH DOUBLE STANDARDS

Drawing attention to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gazza, the Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç stated “Palestine, which had been carefully protected and where individuals from different religions had been living peacefully until 1917, is unfortunately filled with blood, tears and persecution nowadays. Bombing hospitals, schools, mosques, churches and refugee camps, invader Israel is carrying out a massacre, genocide, which has not seen before.”.   

Expressing that more than 40 thousand of their brothers were martyred during the attacks, carried out by Israel in Gazza, the Minister Tunç carried on his speech as follows:

“At least 16 thousand of those were children, 10 thousand of those were women. Sadly, we see that international humanitarian law is either ignored by the ones with power or applied with double standards just like the past. As Türkiye, we are conducting an intensive diplomacy traffic to stop the bloodshed in Palestine under the leadership of our President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Even if it is delayed, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court acted and he applied for an arrest warrant for the Prime Minister of Israel (Benjamin) Netanyahu and the Minister of Defense of Israel (Yoav Gallant) for the war and humanitarian crimes, that they committed. Besides this case, we greatly value and support the case, filed by the International Court of Justice by the genocide accusation of South Africa.”

WE WILL CARRY ON OUR FIGHT UNTIL THE ISRAELI AUTHORITIES RECEIVE THE PENALTY THEY DESERVE 

Saying that “As Türkiye, we made a formal application on 7 August 2024 to be involved in this genocide case. As Türkiye, we will carry on our fight until the Israeli Authorities receive the penalty, they deserve.”, the Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç added “Wherever we are as the Turkic world, we always defend the right, equity and justice.”

Expressing that as the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Türkiye, they are ready for any kind of cooperation in every field, concerning the judiciary, the Minister Tunç said “With the maxim of “Our unity is our strength”, we aim to make the Turkic World stronger, more resilient and resistant in every field”.  

The Minister of Justice of the Republic of Türkiye Yılmaz Tunç attended the meeting, hosted by the Minister of Justice of Kazakhstan Azamat Yeskarayev, with the Minister of Justice of Azerbaijan Farid Ahmedov, the Minister of Justice of Kyrgyzstan Ayar Baetov, the Minister of Justice Akbar Toshqulov and the General Secretary of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) Kubanychbek Omuraliev. 

During the meeting, where the determination of the perspectives to develop the cooperation between the Ministries of Justice of the OTS and digitalization of the systems were discussed, the ministers signed the Astana Declaration of the 1st Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Justice of the OTS.