İYİ Party members wear school uniforms, recite student oath in bizarre protest
İYİ Party members have carried out a bizarre protest in Kastamonu against a court's decision to stop the daily student oath from being recited in schools, as they wore school uniforms and recited the oath. "Being a Turk is an honor. Feeling like a Turk on this soil is an honor," a party official said.
Duvar English
Turkey's right-wing nationalist Good (İYİ) Party members in the Black Sea province of Kastamonu have carried out a protest against the Council of State's decision to stop the student oath from being recited in schools.
The group of protesters wore school uniforms and recited the oath to criticize the court's decision.
The mandatory oath was introduced in 1933 and all primary school students had to recite it at the beginning of every school day until 2013, when the obligation was removed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The oath, which aimed to give “nationalistic and moral value” to students, ends with the line "How happy is the one who says 'I am a Turk!'" It has been the source of debate for many years.
In 2018, the Council of State backtracked on the move, but the Education Ministry challenged the decision. On March 12, the council granted the ministry's complaint and canceled its decision to revive the oath, prompting criticism from the nationalist in Turkey.
During the protest, İYİ Party Kastamonu provincial chair Mehmet Çıvgın asked, "Do you think the Turkish nation is abandoned?"
"Being a Turk is an honor. Feeling like a Turk on this soil is an honor," Çıvgın said, as he vowed to bring the oath back.