A parliamentary committee set up after two school shootings in Şanlıurfa and Kahramanmaraş last month held its second meeting on Thursday. Yusuf Beyazıt, the lawmaker who heads the committee for investigation into school shootings and digital risks, said at yesterday’s session that they would opt for a road map delving into the root causes of violence and providing a solution, instead of adapting to a censoring mindset in the fight against risks and abuse.
Beyazıt said the committee would act responsibly for the safety of children. “We will not allow the privacy of families of the dear children who died in the shooting and those injured in the shootings.
“We will work to evaluate the cause-and-effect relationships behind the incidents and, from a holistic perspective, seek not only to determine what happened but also to understand why this situation could not be prevented. The committee’s work will pave the way for result- and solution-oriented steps. We need to address the issue comprehensively, considering its family, school and education, digital risk, and psychological dimensions. We must acknowledge that children and young people are part of and influenced by the family, the school, and increasingly developing and widespread digital platforms. Drawing lessons from these tragic incidents, one of the most important duties of our commission is to present a regulatory, supportive, and guiding report, rather than one based on prohibitions and restrictions, on how our children are affected within all these relationships, the consequences of these effects, and how possible negative outcomes can be prevented,” he said.
Isa Mesih Şahin, a member of Parliament from Istanbul for the ruling Justice and Development (AK Party), stated that the issue should not be reduced solely to school security. “This is a multidimensional issue. We will identify the problems from every angle, discuss any shortcomings, if there are any, and try to take precautions. I also consider it important, in terms of identifying the problem, that teachers from different regions of Türkiye be heard in this committee,” he said.
