Main opposition leader accuses ruling party of rejecting proposals to widen freedoms

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

'You can't silence the CHP by buying the media,' said Kılıçdaroğlu during his party's group meeting May 7. DAILY NEWS photo, Selahattin SÖNMEZ

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has accused Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his party of creating a police state and rejecting every constitutional proposition that included to provide more civil rights and widen freedoms. Kılıçdaroğlu also criticized the ongoing peace process during his party's group meeting at Parliament May 7.

"You may be strong enough for a 17-year-old child, you can send your police, but on the terrorist organization, you keep mum. Sorry, but we don't call such a person a prime minister. You are not worthy of this country," Kılıçdaroğlu said, referring to a high school student severely wounded in last week's May Day events after she was hit by a gas canister fired by the police.

Kılıçdaroğlu also said the AKP had refused their proposition on an article guaranteeing gender equality in the Constitution negotiations at the Parliament. "We said one gender could not be superior to the other and the AKP refused. I'm addressing each and every woman. The AKP considers you second-class citizens," he said. The AKP has also objected to another article in which they stated that every person regardless of ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity was equal. "We made two promises. One, a modern Constitution. Two, to unmask the AKP. We sat at the table and unmasked the AKP."

Allergic to the word 'Turkish'

Kılıçdaroğlu reiterated the CHP did not want the expression "Turkish nation" to be removed from the definition of citizenship. "Erdoğan is alegic to the word Turkish... No strength will be enough to remove it as long as the CHP exists. Atatürk's founding role will stay in the introduction part, because the CHP is here," he said, adding that the CHP was the only party defending more democracy and more freedoms.

"You can't silence the CHP by buying the media. We are here [working] for the independence and unity of this country, without alienating any of our citizens no matter what their ethnicity."