Erdoğan vows to push on with democratic initiative

In his speech, he mostly responded to opposition parties’ criticism of the government over the democratic initiative, which he swore to see through. He said his party was in no way pessimistic about the fate of the democratic initiative process, which seeks to end separatist violence by expanding the rights of Kurds in the country. “When we set out on this road, we knew what kind of obstacles, provocations and harassment we would face,” he said.

He noted that they knew that those who profited from the “terror market” would do all they could to stall the process. “Let me repeat this once again: The status quo cannot remain in place. We can’t send any more youths to death, knowingly. We cannot tolerate more families being torn apart. We will not allow terror, supporters of terrorism, bloodsuckers who feed on bloodshed caused by terror and vampires to fulfill their plans.”

He said their solution was to fight terrorism, obstinately demanding more democracy. “What we say is initiative, unity, brotherhood, and we are saying these in a voice louder than ever.”

The prime minister said there were a large number of “interest groups” against the initiative, including those who earned money from the drug trade of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and those who earned non-financial profits using the blood of those killed in clashes. “Of course, it will not be easy. Those whose lifelines have been cut off will stand in front of this process like a wall. Those who have lost their easy money will most certainly resort to all sorts of provocation and aggravations. But this nation has the power and the will to ruin their game. My people are aware of these games being played. The nation knows who stands where and why he stands there. My people will not fall into this trap. … We will complete this process with the permission of God and the support and prayers of our nation.”

Erdoğan on opposition

The prime minister also criticized the opposition, which has been less than helpful in the government’s initiative. He criticized the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) lack of support for the Kurdish initiative, recalling that the CHP in a 1999 report proposed similar solutions to the issue. “I know Mr. Baykal rather well by now,” he said, referring to Deniz Baykal, the CHP’s leader. “He says one thing in the morning, then he says something else in the evening. The Nationalist Movement Party [MHP] does the same thing. And the Democratic Society Party [DTP] [which was closed by a high court last Friday on charges of separatism] talks of taking up arms,” Erdoğan said, a reference to an earlier statement from former DTP deputy Emine Ayna who said the party’s voters wanted their deputies to leave Parliament and join the PKK’s ongoing armed struggle. “We invite all of you to engage in politics instead,” he said.

At some point during the speech, the prime minister, frequently interrupted by hecklers from opposition parties, became visibly angry. Turning his face to Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Şahin, he said, “Mr. Speaker, do you want me to silence them or would you rather do that yourself?”

He also said he wished he could talk about the state’s budget, as this would be an apt time for budget talks.

He continued his criticism of the CHP, recalling Baykal’s statement that “the prime minister couldn’t bring himself to say that the Reşadiye attack was the work of the PKK.” Last week, seven soldiers were killed in a terrorist attack in Tokat’s Reşadiye district. A renegade arm of the PKK claimed responsibility for the attack, but Erdoğan said he had concerns that the attack could have been staged together with coup-plotting groups in the military. Erdoğan in yesterday’s speech responded to Baykal’s covert accusation. “Running a state takes some earnestness. Representatives of the state and the government cannot say whatever comes to their minds. They should not talk without evidence. We don’t have just one terrorist organization in the country. We also have terror attacks carried out by the terrorist organization [the PKK] in collaboration with different terrorist groups. The important thing is to be able to spot these and announce them publicly.”

He also said the government felt it was wrong to repeat the PKK’s name, as if to promote it publicity. “This is sabotage against the process of national unity and brotherhood,” he said.