CHP is undermining charter efforts: PM

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

Main oppostion CHP’s deputy group chair Akif Hamzaçebi (R) speaks to reporters.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan charged that the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was seeking to derail the constitution-making process yesterday and vowed that the government would not “allow anyone to impose fiats” in the process.

“We have made a promise to the people and thus we will not be the party to leave the negotiating table. However, we will not allow anyone to impose fiats neither on us or the nation,” Erdoğan said in a speech at a gathering of the Turkish Exporters’ Council (TİM).

‘Giving signals of being a spoilsport’
“The chairman of the main opposition party has begun uttering some conditions regarding the constitution. Speaking colloquially, he is giving signals of being a spoilsport,” Erdoğan said, charging that the CHP was “yearning” for a return to the era of the 1960 coup. “But there will be no return to the past. Neither we, nor the nation will accept that,” he said.

The prime minister also lashed out at CHP lawmaker Kamer Genç, who had recently said that the use of force was becoming the only option to resist the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Genç made the remarks as he condemned the marking of Alevi homes in several cities across Turkey and blamed Erdoğan for inciting hatred against the long-stigmatized community.

The CHP played down the accusations and charged that the AKP had wrongly assumed that the main opposition would leave Parliament’s cross-party constitution-making panel.

“I’m puzzled. ‘Spoilsport’ is not an expression that could ever come to mind about our attitude at the Constitution Conciliation Commission. We will continue to be part of the commission to reflect the views of social groups which the CHP represents,” CHP deputy group chair Akif Hamzaçebi told reporters.

“We don’t think that the AKP’s approach at the commission has been that libertarian. They probably thought that we will walk out, but we are there. We’ll see who will be the party which is willing to abandon the consensus efforts by the way of starting a public debate on a presidential or a semi-presidential system,” he said.

The commission, which began drafting the text of the new constitution May 1, has so far agreed on the wording of only two articles – on human dignity and honor, and the integrity of fundamental rights.