Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan should seek solutions for the country's problems in the Turkish Parliament, not in EU corridors.
Bahçeli, speaking at his party's parliamentary group gathering yesterday, claimed Erdoğan is hoping for help from the European Union on a closure case against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). "Erdoğan should immediately realize that the Turkish Parliament, not the EU, is best venue to solve our problems.
He should seek solutions for the country’s problems in the Turkish Parliament, not in EU corridors, and take concrete steps to this end,” he noted.
Bahçeli asserted that Erdoğan uses the will of the people as a gun against judicial bodies and hopes for help from the EU against the closure case opened against his party.
“He is trying to intimidate everyone by using the votes the party received in last year’s general elections. He is stuck on the idea that he has no responsibility for the current atmosphere of crisis in Turkey. It is sad to witness that the AK Party administration hopes for help from the EU,” he said.
Bahçeli, accusing the AK Party of not being able to make up its mind on constitutional amendments that are meant to make party closures more difficult in Turkey, said the governing party has not yet adopted a road map on a new set of regulations which would make party closures more difficult.
“The AK Party officials could not get past conspiracy theories and decide on a rational stance and plan for the troubled path ahead of Turkey. Calls and initiatives for common sense from nongovernmental organizations failed to move the governing party to make a decision on the constitutional amendments,” he said.
The AK Party is planning to introduce a series of constitutional amendments which will make party closures more difficult following a case filed against it by Supreme Court of Appeals Chief Prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalçınkaya last month on the grounds that it has become “a focal point of anti-secular activities.”
“We have always believed that party closures are not a valid solution in politics. The MHP does not need any advice from anyone on the planned constitutional amendments. Those who try to assist us with advice should know very well that we do not need the advice of those who act as servants to political powers for petty interests,” Bahçeli remarked.
Bahçeli also noted that his party is against any amendment to Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which has been used in the prosecution of intellectuals, journalists and activists for “insulting Turkishness”.
After years of foot dragging, the government finally submitted a proposal to Parliament on Monday to amend the notorious article, stipulating that future prosecution under the infamous law will require permission from the president. Earlier proposals said permission should be issued by the justice minister or by a committee of specialists.
“We will use every democratic means to fight an amendment to Article 301. If the prime minister resorts to making such amendments with the objective of saving his party from closure, then the AK Party will have come much closer to becoming a center of activities against Turkey’s unity,” he said.
Bahçeli also commented on a fight that broke out between groups of students with conflicting ideological beliefs at Akdeniz University on Sunday. “It is wrong to present such a conflict as a fight between supporters of the MHP and the Kurds,” he said.
Underlining that there are circles who try to associate Turkish nationalists with such fights, he noted that such incidents have no relation to his party.
“These are provocative acts. MHP supporters will never be instruments in such intentional acts. No one can claim that there is a conflict between followers of the MHP and the Kurds in Turkey. I call on the government, the governor of Antalya and the rector of Akdeniz University to investigate Sunday’s fight,” he added.
MHP Antalya provincial officials removed from office
Meanwhile, the MHP Antalya provincial administration was removed from office following clashes between student groups at Akdeniz University on Sunday.
MHP Deputy Chairman Tunca Toskay said they took this action to prevent games from being played with his party. “It is presented as if Sunday’s fight between students at Akdeniz University was triggered by the MHP. But I know officials from the MHP Antalya provincial office very well. They are sorry about this incident,” he said.
Toskay also noted that Sunday’s fight proved that separatist and terrorist activities are in their final stages.
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