I still carry in my heart today the same excitement I felt on the day I started my duty as a founding member of the CHP Europe organization in 2013. Because the party I dedicated myself to is the Republican People's Party, founded by Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

For years, in Europe, especially in the state of Baden-Württemberg, we worked with great dedication alongside our comrades who believed in each other. We went door-to-door to increase our membership, and during election periods, we worked day and night at the ballot boxes. We engaged in a democratic struggle with the observers of AK Party, MHP, and other parties. Our sole aim was the success of the CHP, the strengthening of democracy in Turkey, and the restoration of Republican values to their rightful place.

We hosted our general chairmen, deputies, and party executives who came from Turkey with great hospitality.

 We established relations with German political parties and tried to be the voice of our constituents in Europe. We transported our disabled citizens to the ballot boxes in our vehicles so they could vote. We never forgot our devoted women who participated in election campaigns, entrusting their small children to caregivers at home.

 Together with our friends serving in the administration, including our Baden-Württemberg State Chairman Mr. Kazım Kaya, as well as valuable politicians, lawyers, doctors, artists, and journalists, we forgot the concept of time. We had neither weekends nor holidays. Because the cause we believed in was much greater than personal agendas.

We were a part of the struggle for democracy, from Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu's Justice March to the election rallies. Our dream was a Turkey where children did not go to bed hungry, young people looked to the future with hope, the rule of law prevailed, and the values of the Republic founded by Atatürk regained strength.

Today, however, I observe with great sadness.

Who pressed this button to create an environment that alienates people who have worked for years from their party? Why are we saying hurtful words to each other? Why are people who have dedicated years to the same cause hurting each other?

No... Neither I nor the conscientious voters of the Republican People's Party would agree to this.

No political disagreement, no struggle for office is great enough to destroy brotherhood. It is unbecoming of both the history of the CHP and Atatürk's legacy for people who fought shoulder to shoulder yesterday to use harsh words against each other today.

Today, a new party can be founded, different political paths can be chosen. Democracy requires this. However, democracy fosters pluralism, not division; respect, not enmity; common sense, not anger. Political rivalry is never enmity. People who stand on different sides today are comrades who sat at the same table and fought under the same flag yesterday. Tomorrow, they can come together again for the future of the same country.

Only the words spoken will remain.

Therefore, everyone should be careful with the language they use. Let's not corrupt morality. Let's not lose respect. Let's move forward by understanding each other, not by hurting each other. May future generations take as an example a Turkey where ideas compete freely and democracy triumphs, not a political culture where brother insults brother.

Great Leader Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk articulated the Republic's understanding of social justice with his words, "The Republic is, above all, the protector of the friendless." Our duty is to keep this understanding alive and pass it on to future generations.

At the foundation of the Republican People's Party, founded by Atatürk, lie honesty, justice, conscience, and morality. In the shadow of this great plane tree, there should be no place for deceit, violating others' rights, unconscionable behavior, slander, or any approach that would undermine the rule of law. Because the CHP is not merely a political party, but the representative of the will that founded the Republic and the ideal of a modern Turkey.

Different ideas can certainly exist, paths can diverge, new political formations can be established. All of these are natural consequences of democracy. However, no political division can be a reason to declare each other enemies. We are children of the same country, citizens of the same Republic. Targeting people with whom we fought shoulder to shoulder yesterday with hurtful words today is unbecoming of both political ethics and Atatürk's legacy.

What Turkey needs most today is not polarization but reconciliation, not anger but common sense, not division but shared wisdom. As the Republican People's Party enters its second century, it must adhere more closely to its founding values; it must re-establish a political understanding that gives hope, unites, and inspires trust in society.

Our duty today is not to fuel anger, but to rebuild unity and solidarity.

Because elections can be won again.

Positions come and go.

But broken hearts and lost trust can instantly destroy years of effort.

My wish is that the CHP's second century be a century of renewed embrace, not division; of brotherhood, not resentment; of common sense, not anger. Not only the CHP, but also the Republic of Turkey needs this.

Because Atatürk's greatest legacy is not a people who have become enemies, but a nation that believes in the rule of law, does not lose its conscience, places morality above politics, and can unite around Republican values.

Let's not lose each other.

Let's use language befitting the will that founded the Republic.

Let's not corrupt morality.

Let's not lose our conscience.

Let's not diminish respect.

Because a strong Republic is the foundation of a strong democracy; and a strong democracy can only rise on the shoulders of people who protect their conscience and morality.

Let's never lose our faith in Turkey's bright future.

 Temel Işık

Journalist | CHP Europe Founding Member (2013) | Germany