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Today's Zaman, Turkey
Oct 16 2012
MHP leader slams government on Syria policy
16 October 2012 / TODAY'S ZAMAN, Ä°STANBUL
Leaders of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the
Republican People's Party (CHP) have directed harsh criticism toward
the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government regarding
Turkey's recent foreign policy on Syria, accusing the government of
dragging Turkey into dangerous territory.
Speaking at his party's parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday, MHP
leader Devlet Bahçeli said recent tension sparked by Turkey forcing a
Syrian passenger plane to land in Ä°stanbul on the suspicion that it
had military equipment on board, and then confiscating a number of
boxes on the plane, was an indicator of everything that is wrong with
the government's policy on Syria. `Whether any weapons were found on
the plane is the subject of another discussion,' he said, adding: `It
has been suggested that perhaps only radar equipment was found. If
that is the case, the AK Party government has been misled. The efforts
to use Turkey as a pawn in a fight between other countries will not
succeed.'
He recalled that an Armenian cargo plane was also inspected by Turkish
authorities on Monday. `These interventions must be measured. Steps
that might provoke the other side should be avoided. The AK Party
government knowingly jumped into a pit of fire, and is feeding the
flames,' he said.
Bahçeli said the government is dragging the Syrian affair into an
unmanageable situation. `Syria has now closed its airspace to Turkish
aircraft in retaliation, and the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey
has skyrocketed.'
He further criticized the government for its lack of action against
the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) bases in Kandil, northern
Iraq, while being dangerously active in Syria, saying, `Those who
won't even speak of going to Kandil, only one hour from here, say
Damascus is only three hours away.' The MHP leader said the nation
wants to see the Turkish flag raised in Kandil and not in Damascus.
Bahçeli also recalled that ErdoÄ?an has criticized the permanent
members of the UN, saying they have too much power to decide for the
rest of the world and that the organization is unjust and should be
reformed. `It is an embarrassment that the prime minister is saying
this,' he said. Bahçeli noted that he found it odd that it was only
now occurring to the prime minister that the global political scene is
structured unjustly.
He also claimed that the prime minister is making plans in
anticipation of an overthrow of the Assad regime in Syria. `Turkey is
risking enormous harm. The AK Party is being used as an instrument for
ugly propaganda being carried out [regarding Syria].'
CHP leader Kemal KılıçdaroÄ?lu also addressed his party's parliamentary
group meeting on Tuesday. He had harsh words for Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip ErdoÄ?an.
KılıçdaroÄ?lu claimed that ErdoÄ?an, unable to handle criticism, was
instead attacking the opposition and accusing the CHP of being
pro-Assad or pro-Baath. KılıçdaroÄ?lu said the prime minister's
accusations were an attempt to deflect his own responsibility and
cover up for the government's incompetence.
`We have never defended the Assad regime. We have criticized Assad,'
he said. `He [ErdoÄ?an] called us pro-Baath. We never defended the
Baath ideology. We have lost thousands of martyrs in the deserts of
Yemen and Africa. They paid a price, and now you want to make young
people pay the same price once again,' he continued, addressing
ErdoÄ?an.
Echoing Bahçeli's accusation that the government was being used in a
bigger plan for Syria, KılıçdaroÄ?lu said: `The US administration says
`we are working hand in glove with Turkey.' There is an attempt to
drag Turkey into the mire of the Middle East.' He also accused the
government of training and arming refugees to fight against the Syrian
regime.
Oct 16 2012
MHP leader slams government on Syria policy
16 October 2012 / TODAY'S ZAMAN, Ä°STANBUL
Leaders of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the
Republican People's Party (CHP) have directed harsh criticism toward
the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government regarding
Turkey's recent foreign policy on Syria, accusing the government of
dragging Turkey into dangerous territory.
Speaking at his party's parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday, MHP
leader Devlet Bahçeli said recent tension sparked by Turkey forcing a
Syrian passenger plane to land in Ä°stanbul on the suspicion that it
had military equipment on board, and then confiscating a number of
boxes on the plane, was an indicator of everything that is wrong with
the government's policy on Syria. `Whether any weapons were found on
the plane is the subject of another discussion,' he said, adding: `It
has been suggested that perhaps only radar equipment was found. If
that is the case, the AK Party government has been misled. The efforts
to use Turkey as a pawn in a fight between other countries will not
succeed.'
He recalled that an Armenian cargo plane was also inspected by Turkish
authorities on Monday. `These interventions must be measured. Steps
that might provoke the other side should be avoided. The AK Party
government knowingly jumped into a pit of fire, and is feeding the
flames,' he said.
Bahçeli said the government is dragging the Syrian affair into an
unmanageable situation. `Syria has now closed its airspace to Turkish
aircraft in retaliation, and the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey
has skyrocketed.'
He further criticized the government for its lack of action against
the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) bases in Kandil, northern
Iraq, while being dangerously active in Syria, saying, `Those who
won't even speak of going to Kandil, only one hour from here, say
Damascus is only three hours away.' The MHP leader said the nation
wants to see the Turkish flag raised in Kandil and not in Damascus.
Bahçeli also recalled that ErdoÄ?an has criticized the permanent
members of the UN, saying they have too much power to decide for the
rest of the world and that the organization is unjust and should be
reformed. `It is an embarrassment that the prime minister is saying
this,' he said. Bahçeli noted that he found it odd that it was only
now occurring to the prime minister that the global political scene is
structured unjustly.
He also claimed that the prime minister is making plans in
anticipation of an overthrow of the Assad regime in Syria. `Turkey is
risking enormous harm. The AK Party is being used as an instrument for
ugly propaganda being carried out [regarding Syria].'
CHP leader Kemal KılıçdaroÄ?lu also addressed his party's parliamentary
group meeting on Tuesday. He had harsh words for Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip ErdoÄ?an.
KılıçdaroÄ?lu claimed that ErdoÄ?an, unable to handle criticism, was
instead attacking the opposition and accusing the CHP of being
pro-Assad or pro-Baath. KılıçdaroÄ?lu said the prime minister's
accusations were an attempt to deflect his own responsibility and
cover up for the government's incompetence.
`We have never defended the Assad regime. We have criticized Assad,'
he said. `He [ErdoÄ?an] called us pro-Baath. We never defended the
Baath ideology. We have lost thousands of martyrs in the deserts of
Yemen and Africa. They paid a price, and now you want to make young
people pay the same price once again,' he continued, addressing
ErdoÄ?an.
Echoing Bahçeli's accusation that the government was being used in a
bigger plan for Syria, KılıçdaroÄ?lu said: `The US administration says
`we are working hand in glove with Turkey.' There is an attempt to
drag Turkey into the mire of the Middle East.' He also accused the
government of training and arming refugees to fight against the Syrian
regime.