ABSTRACT
The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the parliamentary debates surrounding the amendment to the Constitution, which added the Six Arrows-representing the principles of the Republican People’s Party (CHP)-to Article 2 of the Constitution through Law No. 3115 dated February 5, 1937, and to discuss the political consequences of this amendment. The parliamentary debates during which the aforementioned constitutional amendment was enacted not only reflected the single-voiced political environment of an era that rejected political pluralism but also served as a stage for the criminalization of any opposing views toward the Six Arrows-which had been enshrined as fundamental characteristics of the state and granted constitutional protection-under both the Constitution and criminal law. In 1937, the principles of the CHP were enshrined in the Constitution, and thoughts opposing them were explicitly defined as criminal elements. This was followed by other legal regulations implemented the next year, thereby legally legitimizing Single-Party rule in Turkey. The addition of the Six Arrows, also known as the Principles of Atatürk/Kemalism, to the Constitution should not be understood as a mere constitutional amendment, but rather as a historical milestone that served to reinforce the ideology adopted by the Single-Party rule in constitutional terms.