CHP vows not to quit talks on charter

ANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News

The Republican People’s Party (CHP) aims to bring a modern constitution for Turkey, says Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, speaking at a TV interview yesterday. Hürriyet photo

Main opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said yesterday that his party would make any effort for a new and democratic constitution.

“I gave instructions to our representatives [in the Constitution Conciliation Committee] that the Republican People’s Party (CHP) will not leave the table. Our aim is to bring a modern constitution” Kılıçdaroğlu said on state-run TV channel TRT.

Kılıçdaroğlu once again urged for democratic reforms such as reducing the election threshold and a more democratic political parties law to be carried out simultaneously with the drafting of the new constitution.

Kılıçdaroğlu said even senior officials, such as President Abdullah Gül and Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek, admit the problem of lengthy detention periods, but “Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is not convinced on this issue, this is the main problem. This problem will not be solved unless he is convinced.”

In further comments on the Arab Spring, Turkey should not directly interfere with Syria, Kılıçdaroğlu said, but emphasized that they support those who demand democracy, liberty and human rights in Syria. “We do not support the Baath Party, how could we support them when there is such oppression,” he lamented.

He claimed that freedom and democracy demands of the people had been turned into an effort to share the natural resources of the Middle East by Western powers. 

CHP leader indicated a “plot” against Iran in the Middle East. “It’s a small part of a big plot. The target is to isolate Iran in the Middle East. If you change the current administration of Syria and replace it with an anti-Iran one, Iran will be isolated. Everybody is aware of this,” he said.

Referring to the uprisings in the other parts of the Middle East such as Bahrain and Yemen, Kılıçdaroğlu said, “Blood is being shed in the countries other than Syria. Why do they turn a blind eye to this?”