In a written statement issued yesterday afternoon, Bahçeli said that “an ethnic separatist agenda targeting Turkey's national existence was progressing step by step” thanks to the Justice and Development Party (AK Party). Bahçeli's comments came in response to government plans announced Wednesday to address Turkey's longstanding Kurdish problem. “This initiative aims to gain political and legal legitimacy for ethnic separatism in lines with the strategy of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party [PKK] organization,” Bahçeli also said.
The MHP leader also had sharp words of criticism for Prime Minister and AK Party leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, accusing him of buying into separatist requests and giving in to terrorism.
“The sorting and separatist project they're trying to market as a ‘democratic initiative' is the newest level in [Erdoğan's] giving in,” Bahçeli said. He criticized Wednesday's statements by Interior Minister Atalay on the aims of the plan that the government is working on. “The statement the interior minister made [yesterday] addresses the PKK's requests step-by-step for the short, medium and long terms,” Bahçeli alleged.
