Main opposition CHP deputy’s reaction to Turkish PM’s wife ignites row

ANKARA

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Kamer Genç has caused tension by shouting at Emine Erdoğan while she was delivering a speech a the Japanese Embassy in Ankara at a reception on the occasion of the emperor’s birthday. ‘By which title are you speaking here?’ he has said. AA photo

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Kamer Genç stirred a fresh controversy during a reception in Ankara late on Nov. 26 when he interrupted a speech by the spouse of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Ministers and senior figures of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) have queued up to condemn Genç, with AKP spokesperson Hüseyin Çelik calling on the CHP to take action against Genç.
“Rudeness against the spouse of our Prime Minister by that man did not surprise us. But those who appreciate him and the CHP administration who remained silent against this scandal surprise us,” Çelik wrote in his Twitter account on Nov. 27.

CHP deputy Genç heckled Emine Erdoğan during her speech at the Japanese Embassy in Ankara at a reception on the occasion of the emperor’s birthday which is a national holiday in Japan.

“By which title are you speaking here? You don’t have any position in [state] protocol,” Genç shouted various times during Erdoğan’s speech, indicating that she does not have an official position.

Erdoğan’s guards blocked Genç and attempted to move him away. Genç, in response, shouted “Move aside, I’m a lawmaker.” Erdoğan, meanwhile, continued her speech. When tension rose, Energy Minister Taner Yıldız approached Genç and said, “Don’t behave rudely,” asking him to leave the hall. Genç left the hall after having an argument with Yıldız.

Speaking to reporters, Yıldız said Erdoğan delivered the speech at the reception on the basis of the principle of reciprocity as the spouse of the Japanese prime minister had also attended a Turkish reception in Japan. While leaving the reception, Erdoğan said that Genç “put himself to shame.”

CHP doesn’t approve

Later on, Genç wrote on his Twitter account that Emine Erdoğan spoke on behalf of the Republic of Turkey although she didn’t have the right to represent the country since Minister Yıldız was there.

“I asked why she was speaking while Taner Yıldız was there. Guards and Taner attacked me. I will settle accounts in Parliament,” Genç wrote. Genç yesterday told reporters in Parliament that he did not disrespect Erdoğan during her speech, adding that he attempted to protect the reputation of the Republic.

Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Şahin, speaking to reporters in Ankara, denounced Genç and said that he always insulted everyone in Parliament. “I want to ask Mr. [CHP chairman] Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu; if your spouse were treated the same [as Emine Erdoğan], wouldn’t you teach him his place? I’m expecting him to do what’s appropriate,” Şahin said.

What happened in the Japanese Embassy on Nov. 26 “was not nice,” according to CHP spokesperson Haluk Koç. “We cannot approve or appreciate it. We are against any mentality that puts women in a secondary position,” Koç said.