Presidential system over our dead bodies: CHP
ANKARA
AA photo
The leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) has accused President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of trying to impose on Turkey a presidential system that accumulates all powers in one pair of hands, stressing the party would “never allow such a thing to happen even if there is only one CHP MP left in parliament.”“Is such a thing possible? No way. What did we say? [We said] that he could only realize such a democracy over our dead bodies,” Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu added.
“When asked what it is that he wants, [Erdoğan] says, ‘I want to appoint the governor, the district governor, the judge and the public prosecutor. I will designate deputies and candidates for mayor. I will be in charge of everything. Especially the legislature and the judiciary are stumbling blocks – I will remove them. Just elect me, and the rest is up to the God,’” the CHP head said in an address to his parliamentary group on May 17.
“Not only are your hands covered in blood, your teeth are also full of blood. Why did you send arms to Syria? To let people get massacred. You are the only one responsible for all these deaths,” Kılıçdaroğlu said, accusing the president of benefiting from “blood, violence and tension.”
“Do you have any idea of religion, ethics, honor, or pride?” the CHP leader asked.
Kılıçdaroğlu also compared the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to North Korea’s Workers’ Party and Erdoğan to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, describing both as “dictators mocked by the whole world.”
“It has been revealed that the AKP does not defend democracy in the way we do. The AKP is a political party embracing the North Korean model. There is a dictator in North Korea who is an object of derision in the whole world. We also have a sham dictator who is also an object of derision in the world,” CHP head said.
Kılıçdaroğlu was criticizing Erdoğan over his apparent pressure on departing Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, who announced that he was leaving his position on May 5, after just 20 months in the post, in what the CHP leader described as a “palace coup.” “[The AKP] has locked itself between the lips of just one person.
Someone should speak out and say there is democracy in this country. This dictator gave the instruction and [Davutoğlu] resigned,” Kılıçdaroğlu said, while also criticizing Davutoğlu for not resisting the president despite receiving the votes of more than 23 million Turkish citizens at the last election.
“He is now playing the victim. But no, you can’t do it. You should have defended the rights of the people who voted for you, Mr. Davutoğlu,” he added.
Wedding on same day as funerals
Kılıçdaroğlu also slammed Erdoğan for organizing the wedding ceremony of his daughter on the same day as funerals for eight soldiers killed by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in an ambush on May 13.
“This gentleman holds the wedding ceremony on the same day as we buried eight of our soldiers. But you cancelled the April 23 [National Sovereignty and Children’s Day Festival] because of killed soldiers,” he added.
‘Double-standards over political executions’
The CHP leader also drew attention to Erdoğan’s condemnation of the execution of Bangladeshi Islamist leader Motiur Rahman Nizami last week, noting that the president had expressed his “respect for the internal affairs of Saudi Arabia” after its controversial execution of 47 people in recent months.
“I have always been against political executions, wherever they happen and whoever is executed. But this gentleman [Erdoğan] is not like me, he discriminates between them,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.
“He got furious after the execution of this person in Bangladesh. But when Saudi Arabia executed 47 people, he said the Saudi laws included the death penalty and therefore should be respected. So why don’t you say the same for Bangladesh, which obviously also has the death penalty on its laws?” he added.
“When asked what it is that he wants, [Erdoğan] says, ‘I want to appoint the governor, the district governor, the judge and the public prosecutor. I will designate deputies and candidates for mayor. I will be in charge of everything. Especially the legislature and the judiciary are stumbling blocks – I will remove them. Just elect me, and the rest is up to the God,’” the CHP head said in an address to his parliamentary group on May 17.
“Not only are your hands covered in blood, your teeth are also full of blood. Why did you send arms to Syria? To let people get massacred. You are the only one responsible for all these deaths,” Kılıçdaroğlu said, accusing the president of benefiting from “blood, violence and tension.”
“Do you have any idea of religion, ethics, honor, or pride?” the CHP leader asked.
Kılıçdaroğlu also compared the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to North Korea’s Workers’ Party and Erdoğan to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, describing both as “dictators mocked by the whole world.”
“It has been revealed that the AKP does not defend democracy in the way we do. The AKP is a political party embracing the North Korean model. There is a dictator in North Korea who is an object of derision in the whole world. We also have a sham dictator who is also an object of derision in the world,” CHP head said.
Kılıçdaroğlu was criticizing Erdoğan over his apparent pressure on departing Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, who announced that he was leaving his position on May 5, after just 20 months in the post, in what the CHP leader described as a “palace coup.” “[The AKP] has locked itself between the lips of just one person.
Someone should speak out and say there is democracy in this country. This dictator gave the instruction and [Davutoğlu] resigned,” Kılıçdaroğlu said, while also criticizing Davutoğlu for not resisting the president despite receiving the votes of more than 23 million Turkish citizens at the last election.
“He is now playing the victim. But no, you can’t do it. You should have defended the rights of the people who voted for you, Mr. Davutoğlu,” he added.
Wedding on same day as funerals
Kılıçdaroğlu also slammed Erdoğan for organizing the wedding ceremony of his daughter on the same day as funerals for eight soldiers killed by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in an ambush on May 13.
“This gentleman holds the wedding ceremony on the same day as we buried eight of our soldiers. But you cancelled the April 23 [National Sovereignty and Children’s Day Festival] because of killed soldiers,” he added.
‘Double-standards over political executions’
The CHP leader also drew attention to Erdoğan’s condemnation of the execution of Bangladeshi Islamist leader Motiur Rahman Nizami last week, noting that the president had expressed his “respect for the internal affairs of Saudi Arabia” after its controversial execution of 47 people in recent months.
“I have always been against political executions, wherever they happen and whoever is executed. But this gentleman [Erdoğan] is not like me, he discriminates between them,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.
“He got furious after the execution of this person in Bangladesh. But when Saudi Arabia executed 47 people, he said the Saudi laws included the death penalty and therefore should be respected. So why don’t you say the same for Bangladesh, which obviously also has the death penalty on its laws?” he added.