The debate on expatriates continues among readers. I am sharing a few letters:

Cem Muşkara:

You’ve touched on a festering wound, one we can't simply cut off. Many expatriates still have family ties in the country but no vested interests. Most of these family ties are in rural areas; they have the advantage of earning in foreign currency and spending in Turkish Lira. Sending 100 euros to a relative here makes a significant difference for them! They never benefit from the lira gaining value, which is why they favor mismanagement like that of the AKP.

Muzaffer Oğuz:

I don't want to be unfair to our fellow citizens abroad, but it's true that people who don't live here can't internalize the hardships as much as we do; it's unfortunate they had to leave their country. We can't fully convey the realities in their homeland to those living abroad. This similarity is also valid domestically.

Fikret Yüksel:

Mr. Bursalı, please ask your reader. How many times do Turks living abroad visit their homeland each year, and how many have purchased property, contributing to the national income and paying taxes? Has this been researched?

It's often said that those residing abroad predominantly vote for the ruling party. But I've never seen this questioned by the press as a failure of the other parties.

I've lived abroad for 46 years. During this time, I consistently supported my parents financially. They contributed to the economy with their spending in our homeland. I'm sure there are hundreds of thousands of citizens in my situation. But what's the goal? To alienate those living abroad?

A Reader:

I'm retired from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I served in Germany for 11 years and spent two years as the Deputy Director General for Overseas Turks. During this time, I argued against granting voting rights to expatriates. We couldn't convince the political power. I want to add that allowing expatriates to vote in Turkish elections not only negatively impacts those living in the country but also transfers domestic political divisions to the expatriates, disrupting the unity they need to solve their common issues.

What Happened to Pardus?

Here's the backstory of Pardus: The idea for the "Fatih Project" emerged in 2007, conceived by a few young people, mostly graduates from METU. No government agency was aware of such a project. When they finally presented their idea to the state, the Gulenists sidelined the original developers and took over the project. Soon after, TÜBİTAK said, "We will develop it now," and seized Pardus. Until then, Pardus had been an open-source and free distribution, but they nationalized it. There were already rumors that the Gulenists didn’t want Pardus to develop; they planned to hand it over to Microsoft. In reality, nationalizing Pardus pulled the plug on it.

By the time the Gulenists were understood and removed from the state, it was too late for Pardus.

As someone on Bahçeli's list of 154 people to be held accountable, I was very curious: Did Bahçeli engage in any action to commemorate July 24th, Press Freedom Day, yesterday? If he did, it was very inappropriate. The list is pure profiling. Prosecutors should take action. But where are they...