MHP demands panel for illegal wiretapping

ANKARA

‘A joint parliamentary commission should be established to inquire into eavesdropping,’ says MHP leader Bahçeli. AA photo

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli appealed to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) yesterday to establish a joint parliamentary commission to inquire into illegal eavesdropping and secret filming. The premier made public Dec. 21 that bugs, or wiretapping devices, had been found in his home office.

“A joint parliamentary commission should be established to inquire into eavesdropping and secret filming. Turkey should be cleaned of all bugs and insects in this way. If the premier turns a deaf ear to this call, our suspicions about his government will come true, and it will be revealed that a bug farm was established by the AKP,” Bahçeli told reporters at a press conference.

Bahçeli also slammed Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for masquerading as a victim of illegal eavesdropping even though he was content with the situation when sex tapes of MHP deputies were released before the June 2011 elections.

“Mr. Prime Minister was not annoyed when the chief of General Staff was illegally eavesdropped on and when the recordings were released on the Internet. He remained indifferent when the main opposition leader’s private life was revealed, and our party was trapped by illegal tapes,” Bahçeli said.

Ten senior party members resigned from the MHP after the anonymous publication of their R-rated videos on the Internet just before the June 2011 elections. Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) then-leader Deniz Baykal also resigned after similar video footage appeared on the Internet in 2010.

“The bugs that were fed by the AKP have mutated, gone out of control and hit their master. God knows why Mr. Prime Minister did not foresee that the bugs that he previously used for his political gains could get out of control and target him,” Bahçeli said.

‘A case of black humor’

The MHP leader described the attempts to eavesdrop on the prime minister as a “scandal” and “a case of black humor.” “Why Mr. Erdoğan recently made public that there had been attempts to eavesdrop on him even though he alleged that it happened almost one year ago. Eavesdropping on the prime minister is an issue of national security. Who would able to put those bugs in his room?” Bahçeli asked, adding that the government should urgently pave the way to find out those who are responsible for the eavesdropping, instead of complaining.

In further remarks, Bahçeli elaborated on ongoing tension between the government and Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) over students’ protests against Erdoğan during his visit to the university to attend the launching ceremony of Turkey’s first domestically made satellite, Göktürk-2.

Bahçeli rebuffed both the students who staged demonstrations to protest the prime minister and universities who released declarations condemning the students and ODTÜ administration.

“Universities have been polarized due to the AKP’s attitude. The government’s ‘divide and rule’ policy was injected into the scientific institutions this time,” Bahçeli said.