Report shows AKP cannot progress: Main opposition CHP

ANKARA

The progress report unveiled by the European Union Commission clearly shows that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has not fulfilled its responsibilities in the fields of politics, the judiciary and human rights, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has suggested.

“The report basically reveals that the AKP cannot carry Turkey a step forward towards the EU. The AKP, which has not succeeded in opening negotiations on even a single chapter for years, will not be able to progress in the upcoming years. In fact, this report shows that it is the AKP that cannot progress, not Turkey,” CHP deputy chair Erdoğan Toprak said on Oct. 16 in a written statement.

Recalling that the report described the police’s use of excessive force during Gezi protests as “unacceptable,” Toprak said it was a “shame on the AKP.” “Even this single issue is enough for the AKP to be ashamed,” he said.

Also commenting on the report, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli dismissed it as “play.” “The EU releases a report every October. It neither stands behind its report nor does it expect Turkey to take it into consideration. This is a play,” Bahçeli told reporters during a party meeting in Ankara.