BBP leader calls for active engagement in diplomacy, advocates democratic freedom

In an exclusive interview with Today's Zaman, Yalçın Topçu, the new head of the BBP, explained his views on a range of topics from foreign policy to domestic issues. “Individual liberties and basic rights should be fully extended to anybody in this land no matter what religion or ethnicity he or she represents,” he said. Touching on the Ergenekon clandestine terror network, Topçu said the law should go wherever the evidence leads and that Turkey needs to wash its hands of all kinds of illegal and anti-democratic gangs, which have reigned terror and havoc on the country for some time now.

Following the tragic death of its former leader, Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu, in a helicopter crash in March, Topçu was elected the new leader of the BBP in the third round of voting last month, winning the support of 507 delegates out of the 516 who voted in the round. He had worked with Yazıcıoğlu for many years. He was the first chairman of the Ankara branch of the party in 1993.

The pro-nationalist BBP party differs from its rival the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), led by Devlet Bahçeli, in that the former emphasizes conservative and religious values mixed with nationalist ideas. The BBP is also a strong advocate of democratic reforms in Turkey and stood by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in both the 2008 closure case and the 2007 presidential election debacle.

The newlyelected leader of Turkey’s Grand Unity Party, Yalçın Topçu, emphasizes his party’s unwavering support for fully fledged democracy and criticized anti-democratic endeavors and coup plots aiming to topple the government and adds, ‘We do not want anyone prosecuted and harassed just because he holds different beliefs and subscribes to different thoughts’

Topçu reiterated the party's unwavering support for fully fledged democracy and criticized anti-democratic endeavors and coup plots aiming to topple the government. “Solutions ought to be found within the framework of democratic principles rather than backroom politicking backed by clandestine illegal networks,” he noted.

Though he expressed his discomfort with the name Ergenekon, as the name is connected to the mythical emergence of the Turkic race in Central Asia, Topçu said the lack of fully integrated democratic principles in the system is the root cause of these illegal networks. “The nation is apparently uneasy over these structures and wants them to be cleaned out,” he emphasized, adding that justice should punish these conspirators.

He also lambasted Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for describing himself as the prosecutor of the case while at the same time criticizing Deniz Baykal, the leader of main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), for defending suspects arrested during the investigation. “Let the independent judges and prosecutors handle the case,” Topçu stated.

“The BBP is for democracy all the way,” he emphasized at the party's headquarters in the Sıhhiye district of Ankara. Topçu recalled the position of the late BBP leader Yazıcıoğlu, who staunchly opposed the Feb. 28, 1997 postmodern coup, in which the military pressured the government to resign. At the time, Yazıcıoğlu was famously remembered as saying, “We do not greet soldiers who turned their cannonballs toward [Turkey's] own citizens.” Topçu said the party has not changed its stance on coups and military interventions since then.

He said no one should attempt to hamper the functioning of democratic institutions in Turkey. “We do not want anyone prosecuted and harassed just because he holds different beliefs and subscribes to different thoughts,” he underlined. Topçu also criticized state policies forcing people into exile because they are deemed to be dangerous to the regime in Turkey. “Our poets, respected people and litterateurs were forced to live in exile, and this certainly did not help Turkey in any way,” he said.

Youth branch to be monitored carefully

The BBP leader also said he is well aware of vicious attempts and plots to mar Alperen Ocakları, the party's youth branch, with bids to involve its members in provocative conspiracy plans. “We have made sure our youth organization is well run under a legal framework and have brought measures to prevent any ill-intentioned involvement by certain groups,” he said. “Membership rosters are carefully screened, and we keep a close eye on any movement within Alperen Ocakları,” he added.

The subject of Alperen Ocakları has been hotly debated in connection with the assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was editor-in-chief of the Agos weekly. It has been widely suggested that after the death of Yazıcıoğlu, the young people who are gathered under the roof of Alperen Ocakları, an organization that promotes Turkish and Islamic ideals, could create bigger security risks. Alperen Ocakları was originally established in 1997 under the name of Nizam-ı Alem Ocakları.

It was reported that when the Ergenekon investigation started, Yazıcıoğlu convened the heads of the branches of Alperen Ocakları in Ankara, telling them that the Ergenekon terrorist organization was planning to use Alperen Ocakları in street skirmishes; he cautioned them to keep away from Ergenekon. This was an explicit order. Yazıcıoğlu had sensed at an early stage the risk of this dynamic organization being used in street altercations. Feeling the heavy responsibility passed onto him, the new leader of the BBP, Topçu, has assured that the youth branch will behave and that party leaders will block any attempts by illegal organizations to infiltrate the group.

BBP against EU membership

The BBP is against Turkey's membership in the European Union. “We do not support EU candidacy for Turkey as the latter has its own responsibilities to fulfill in the region,” he underlined, signaling that Turkey should take up the task of forming an alliance of some sort in a region spanning from Central Asia to the Middle East based on common historic values. “No need to bother the Europeans, who are already expressing uneasiness over Turkey's membership,” he said. According to Topçu, Turkey can maintain close economic and political ties with the bloc without being a member of the union.

“The imposition of European values, which at times are in conflict with our own values, is derived from centuries-tested historical development, and [these values are] not in the interest of Turkey” he said. Topçu believes Turkey can form a better and healthier relationship with the EU if the former acts on its own dynamics, reinforcing its own values, coming from what he calls a proud civilization. He said he finds it hypocritical that some EU countries support newly independent states based on ethnicity in Turkey's region while advocating a homogenous union on the multi-ethnic European continent.

As for relations with the United States, the BBP leader complains about the lack of substance and concrete action and blames Washington for not acting in good faith vis-à-vis Turkey. “US President Barack Obama's visit carried a lot of symbolic messages,” he said, “But we still do not see any evidence pointing out that our partner is really helping us out in many issues.” Topçu expressed his discomfort with Obama's speech in the Turkish Parliament, where he made his views known on issues such as the Armenian killings and Heybeliada Seminary.

‘Obama’s new policy lacks substance’

Stressing that he has nothing against the American people, Topçu underlined he does not equate the government with the people. Recalling that Turkish and US soldiers fought side by side in the Korean War, he said: “We established a comrade relationship between the Mehmetçik [Turkish soldiers] and the G.I. Joes then. Now what they are doing is going against the spirit of the ‘buddy connection' between the two.” Topçu especially singled out Operation Provide Comfort, a military operation also known as Operation Poised Hammer, which was run by the US in the early 1990s in order to defend Kurds in northern Iraq. Many in Turkey believe the operation helped the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) flourish and wage terrorist activities across the border against Turkey.

Topçu strongly believes that Turkey needs to create a de facto presence in northern Iraq to stem the flow of terrorists crossing the border to kill Turkish soldiers and civilians. “The Ankara agreement allows us to go after terrorist hideouts inside Iraqi territory for up to 75 kilometers,” he said. Topçu said his party submitted a list of proposals to deal with security in southeastern Turkey. Among them is the establishment of highly mobile strike forces to hunt and kill terrorists. The BBP also urges the government to create employment opportunities in the region to prevent the recruitment of unemployed youth by the terrorist organization.

‘We feel for Armenian people’

Talking about the possible normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations, the pro-nationalist party leader Topçu said he feels for the suffering of the Armenian people, who have been hit by high unemployment and a lack of basic food supplies in the landlocked country. “We enjoyed our weddings together, laughed together and became sad when something unfortunate happened in the past,” he said, adding that his party is not against the Armenian people. He warned, however, of the government of Armenia along with the diaspora acting against the interests of Turkey.

“We will never break away from the ties of brotherhood we have established with Azerbaijan,” Topçu noted. He stated that any steps taken by Turkey in the normalization process should be preceded by a resolution of the conflict in the Armenian-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region. “Our relations with Armenia should be based on mutual interest while respecting international law,” he said.

When it comes to relations with the Russian Federation, the BBP leader urges a complete overhaul in the thinking of Turkish foreign policy makers. “We need to abandon the Cold War era mentality when approaching Russia,” Topçu said, noting that both countries share the same geography. He also asked the government to formulate its relations with Russia based on its own interests rather than from the vantage point of US-Turkish relations. “We do not have to shape our policies with our neighbors from the screen door of transatlantic relations,” he noted. He also emphasized that Turkey is not competing with Russia in the neighborhood but rather that they complement each other.