Turkish PM slams main opposition leader’s Bank Asya letter

ANKARA

CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu had called on PM Ahmet Davutoğlu not to remain silent on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s 'smear campaign' regarding Bank Asya. AA Photo

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has harshly criticized the letter written by main opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, which accused him of remaining silent over the president’s “attacks” on Bank Asya.

“It is a clear betrayal to the Turkish economy and stability in Turkey if dear Kılıçdaroğlu wants to give an impression that ‘the Turkish economy is in crisis’ for some people abroad and their extensions here,” Davutoğlu said, speaking at a joint news conference with his Macedonian counterpart Nikola Gruevski on the late hours of Sept. 17 in Ankara.

Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kılıçdaroğlu issued a letter on his party’s website addressed to the prime minister on Sept. 17. He called on Davutoğlu not to remain silent on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s “smear campaign” regarding Bank Asya, whose founders are known to be sympathizers of U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, an ally-turned-enemy of the government.

Kılıçdaroğlu warned that Davutoğlu could be responsible for a potential crisis in the banking sector by not stopping the attacks and allowing investors to be concerned.

However, Davutoğlu strongly denied Kılıçdaroğlu’s statement and claimed that “all practices are applied within the law.”

“What is important for us is applying the rules of the Turkish financial systems without making distinctions, not protecting or not closing down this or that bank. These rules will be applied as they have been applied for the past 12 years. Nobody should expect a different attitude from our government,” he said.

Responding to Kılıçdaroğlu’s reference to “the 25 banks that have sunk throughout the Turkish history,” Davutoğlu said mentioning these banks showed the CHP leader’s “parallelism with the mentality that occurred during the time of governments that caused the bankruptcy of 25 banks.

“What saved Turkey from those conditions and brought the Turkish financial system to the strength it has today was AKP rule under prime ministry of our president [Erdoğan],” he added.

The prime minister also slammed Kılıçdaroğlu for releasing the letter on the CHP website instead of sending directly to him.

“If a main opposition leader writes a letter to the prime minister of the country, he is expected to convey the letter directly and with serious manners,” he said, dubbing the words used for Erdoğan in the letter as “shameful in terms of state ethics and individual courtesy rules.”

In the letter, Kılıçdaroğlu had called Erdoğan “the man who lives on a high-altitude hill,” in reference to the Çankaya Palace that represents the Turkish presidency.