‘Yes’ vote will win in referendum, finishing off PKK and ISIL: Turkish PM Yıldırım

BİNGÖL

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) will be eradicated if “yes” vote triumphs in the April 16 referendum on shifting Turkey to an executive presidency, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has said.

“The light at the end of the tunnel can be seen. Terror has received a big blow. They are dying. I promise you that after April 16, this organization will end,” Yıldırım said at a campaign rally in the southern east province of Bingöl on March 5, referring to the PKK.

“What are the so-called grandfathers in Kandil [Mountain, the headquarters of the PKK] the enemies of this nation, saying? Those in Kandil say that if ‘yes’ wins in the ballots, they will be finished.’ So with God’s will, ‘yes’ votes will triumph. Then FETÖ will be finished, the PKK will be finished, and DEAŞ will be finished,” he added, using Arabic acronym for ISIL and vowing “to continue the fight against terror.”

“All of our citizens living under this flag are welcome. Zazas, Kurds, Turks, Arabs, Roma people, Turkmens, all ethnic groups that we have are most welcome,” Yıldırım said, praising the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) policies on ethnic differences.

“We have refused the policies of rejection, the policies of denial. We have taken historic steps to strengthen our brotherhood. We have developed our democracy. We have lifted prohibitions and restrictions one by one. We regard all citizens of this country as first-class citizens,” he added.

“We have also done something else: We have fought against terror in a relentless struggle. We have continued our inexorable struggle against this PKK, which is trying to ruin Turkish-Kurdish relations,” Yıldırım said.

‘CHP against anything new’

Yıldırım criticized the opposition for arguing against the constitutional change, stating that they are “against any innovation.”

“The main opposition Republican People’s Party [CHP] opposes the new system. The Peoples’ Democratic Party [HDP] also opposes. They are in an old-boy network. They stick to the old trains. High-speed trains and air travels have become widespread, airlines have become the public line, and highways have reached every corner of Turkey. They are against every innovation,” he said.

Yıldırım said the current parliamentary system was prone to governmental crisis, noting that “under normal conditions, there should have been the 24th government, but now we are in the 65th government.”

“What does it mean? Weak governments have never completed their terms because of coups. The services were held back,” he said, adding that in the U.S., where the bicameral legislature with the presidential system is the right system, every term ends in five years. 

“It is the example of stability and strong power,” he said.

“What we bring is this; you will decide on who will form the government. You will give the vote of confidence. After the five years, you will rest,” he said.

“With the Gezi events, the judicial coup [Dec. 17, 2013 corruption cases that targeted figures close to the government] and the July 15 coup, the country lost time. Our resources were wasted,” he said, asking for the “yes” votes to give an answer to all segments that have caused trouble to Turkey.