Baykal likens Erdoğan to Ottomans
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hurriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 22, 2008 00:00
ANKARA - Opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, leader, Deniz Baykal, yesterday lashed out at Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for his controversial statement "Love it or leave it," accusing him of acting like Ottoman sultans.
"Neither the prime minister, nor the president or any other institution in Turkey has a right to say this to its citizens. Even a sultan cannot exercise such powers," Baykal said speaking at his party’s extraordinary congress in Ankara.
The CHP has renewed its party program and party bylaws. The powers of the secretary-general have been trimmed, while the number of deputy party chairpersons has been increased, according to the renewed bylaws. The program has put an emphasis on the "ethnic identity."
"Different ethnic identities are a richness. Different ethnic groups’ rights to learn, teach and broadcast in their mother tongues will be safeguarded. Alevis will be represented at the Religious Affairs Directorate," it read. While the party pledges "family insurance" in the fight against poverty, it promises "zero tax" to those earning minimum wage. The party program also contains reforms in education and agriculture.
At the party congress, Baykal did not comment about his recent surprise ahead of next year’s local elections to open up to conservative voters who wore black chador. However, some deputies in the CHP uneasy with their leader’s "chador" initiative took a rather critical tone. "The chador is the sort of attire imposed on women by political Islam. The CHP grassroots are deeply concerned," said the CHP’s former Istanbul deputy, Ali Kemal Kumkumoğlu.
’Confront realities’
Baykal said he asked the prime minister concrete questions about the sale of Telecom, Sabah-Atv tender, Ceyhan refinery and Lighthouse e.V. during the budgetary discussions in Parliament and noted that they went unanswered.
"There is a media controlled by the prime minister. Apart from that, there are two (media) groups and one of them was boycotted by the prime minister," said Baykal, referring to Erdoğan’s recent boycott call on all Doğan media publications.
"Now he says ’shut down’ the other group," said Baykal. "The problem of the prime minister having an ill-tempered discourse will not end by closing newspapers. The facts are around and he must face with them. These facts will continue to cause problems to him," Baykal said.
The CHP leader said they had left in-party fighting behind and made assurances the members of his party were acting responsibly. Meanwhile, CHP deputy parliamentary leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, well-known for challenging ruling party members and deputies in corruption cases, said he would not run for mayor in Istanbul.
The CHP has renewed its party program and party bylaws. The powers of the secretary-general have been trimmed, while the number of deputy party chairpersons has been increased, according to the renewed bylaws. The program has put an emphasis on the "ethnic identity."
"Different ethnic identities are a richness. Different ethnic groups’ rights to learn, teach and broadcast in their mother tongues will be safeguarded. Alevis will be represented at the Religious Affairs Directorate," it read. While the party pledges "family insurance" in the fight against poverty, it promises "zero tax" to those earning minimum wage. The party program also contains reforms in education and agriculture.
At the party congress, Baykal did not comment about his recent surprise ahead of next year’s local elections to open up to conservative voters who wore black chador. However, some deputies in the CHP uneasy with their leader’s "chador" initiative took a rather critical tone. "The chador is the sort of attire imposed on women by political Islam. The CHP grassroots are deeply concerned," said the CHP’s former Istanbul deputy, Ali Kemal Kumkumoğlu.
’Confront realities’
Baykal said he asked the prime minister concrete questions about the sale of Telecom, Sabah-Atv tender, Ceyhan refinery and Lighthouse e.V. during the budgetary discussions in Parliament and noted that they went unanswered.
"There is a media controlled by the prime minister. Apart from that, there are two (media) groups and one of them was boycotted by the prime minister," said Baykal, referring to Erdoğan’s recent boycott call on all Doğan media publications.
"Now he says ’shut down’ the other group," said Baykal. "The problem of the prime minister having an ill-tempered discourse will not end by closing newspapers. The facts are around and he must face with them. These facts will continue to cause problems to him," Baykal said.
The CHP leader said they had left in-party fighting behind and made assurances the members of his party were acting responsibly. Meanwhile, CHP deputy parliamentary leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, well-known for challenging ruling party members and deputies in corruption cases, said he would not run for mayor in Istanbul.