Opposition leader Bahçeli thanks government for Marmaray

ANKARA

'The MHP wouldn’t hesitate to thank whoever does something good for Turkey,' Devlet Bahçeli says. DHA photo

Making a rare move of conciliation in Turkey’s combative political life, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has thanked the government for the completion of the Marmaray, the world’s first sea tunnel connecting two continents.

Bahçeli, however, also noted that it was the coalition government of 1999-2002, in which the MHP was one of the partners, developed the initial phases of the undersea passage.

“Whichever party is in power, we do not hesitate to congratulate whoever made a contribution for the good of Turkey, because we do not have any inferiority complex or anything to be ashamed of. We would consent to and stand behind anything our nation consents to,” he said yesterday.

Bahçeli notes MHP’s ‘contribution’

“Our contribution in realizing this project should not be neglected,” Bahçeli also added, recalling that the-then transport minister of the coalition government was from the MHP.

The bid for the project was opened in 2002 after the government of the time received credit from the Japanese credit institution JICA to finance the project.

Over the weekend, a deputy from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Atilla Kart, also thanked the government for completing the bold project.

“As a citizen of the Republic of Turkey, I am honored and excited because this project has been implemented. This is a fantastic thing,” Kart said in a televised interview on Nov. 3, also stressing that the former government’s efforts for the project should not be ignored.