Main opposition leader vows to satisfy Turkey’s ‘democracy needs’ during US trip

WASHINGTON - Anadolu Agency

CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu delivers a speech at the Washington-based Brookings Institution on Dec 2. CİHAN photo

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has presented his party’s approach to a number of policy issues at a think tank meeting during his visit to the U.S., vowing to satisfy Turkey’s “needs for democracy.”

Speaking at the Washington-based Brookings Institution on Dec. 2, Kılıçdaroğlu said only his party could truly fulfill the ideas of full democracy, which the Turkish people deserve.

“No one should think that a second-class democracy would suit Turkey. In our country, every citizen deserves first-class democracy, and has the right to ask for it,” he said.

Kılıçdaroğlu said elections alone did not create a real democracy, and stressed that the government should exercise its authority “not by force but rather with consensus.”

The CHP leader also emphasized the importance of press freedom, singling out Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for criticism on the issue. “If a prime minister says he considers that a book can be more dangerous than a bomb, then it means you can certainly have a problem with democracy and freedoms,” he said.

Kılıçdaroğlu also stressed that any solution to the Kurdish issue must originate from the Turkish Parliament, and said the way the current peace process was being conducted was worryingly vague. “We cannot say anything about the process because nobody knows how it is moving forward,” he said.

Regarding Syria’s civil war, Kılıçdaroğlu argued that Turkey should refrain from intervening in the conflict, but must support an international conference to resolve the crisis.