No governor has right to act improperly, says parliament speaker

ANKARA

Adana Governor Hüseyin Avni Coş admitted that he called a protester “gavat,” which means “pimp,” in response to a demonstration against him by a group of people. DHA photo

In contrast to the stance adopted by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek has said that a senior bureaucrat’s use of profanity against a protester is by no means in line with the office he occupies.

Governors were not ordinary people as they represented the state and the government, Çiçek said on Nov. 14 in an interview with Samanyolu Haber news channel television.

“They should act in accordance with this representation,” Çiçek said. “Among all bureaucrats, governors in particular are the ones who will make the state sympathetic, provide integration and close the gap [between the state and the citizens.]”

After initially denying the claims, Adana Governor Hüseyin Avni Coş admitted that he called a protester “gavat,” which means “pimp,” in response to a demonstration against him by a group of people on Nov. 10. He said the reaction followed a “severe provocation.”

The incident sparked a strong reaction from all opposition parties, prompting Erdoğan to robustly defend the Adana governor, while also describing what he did as “inappropriate.”

“They should act accordingly and have these characteristics. Otherwise, we would experience a ‘governor trouble’ among all of these troubles. No governor has this right,” Çiçek said, adding that governors had to be careful about what they said and how they acted.