Parliament rejects motion to censure interior minister

Republican People’s Party (CHP) has alleged that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Atalay pressured judges not to arrest a group of terrorists who surrendered to Turkish security forces at the Habur border gate last October. The CHP’s censure motion was rejected in Parliament yesterday after fiery discussions with 146 voting in favor and 310 voting against.

A group of 34 people affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) surrendered in October at the Habur border gate, on the Turkish-Iraqi border, as the Turkish government was preparing to unveil measures to broaden the democratic rights and freedoms of the country’s citizens. Eight of the group’s members came from the Kandil Mountains, where the PKK maintains a camp. The rest came from Makhmour, a refugee camp in northern Iraq. None were arrested.

Some news reports have alleged that Atalay reassured the leader of the now-defunct Democratic Society Party (DTP), Ahmet Türk, that the surrendering group would not be arrested.

The Interior Ministry denied the claims in a statement yesterday. Türk also denied those claims as did officials from the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), which replaced the DTP.

Ahmet İyimaya, a legal adviser to the governing Justice and Development Party (AK Party), said that motion to censure would not be successful “because the system has been used in the political struggle.”

Erdoğan agrees and has said that using a motion to censure is now a “worn-out” method. Even though the CHP received support from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), it is not expected to be able to reach the absolute majority required for the acceptance of a motion to censure.

İyimaya said that in the state tradition of Turkey, motions to censure are rarely used to end the duties of a minister or the Cabinet. “It is rather a way of providing ground for debate. If there is not support behind the executive, then the way chosen has traditionally been the resignation of the government,” he said.

CHP parliamentary group deputy chairmen Hakkı Süha Okay said Atalay “could now escape the censure motion” but he would not be able to escape from the Supreme Council, a tribunal formed by members of the Constitutional Court for the trial of former ministers.

BDP members reacted sharply to Okay’s words regarding events related to the arrival of the group at Habur. BDP leader Selahattin Demirtaş denied claims that leaders of the now-defunct DTP had made agreements with the government regarding the surrender of a group of people affiliated with the outlawed PKK at the Habur border gate.

Also during yesterday’s debates, BDP deputy Sırrı Sakık stated that the CHP had asked the now-defunct People’s Democracy Party (HADEP), one of the many predecessors of the BDP, to enlist 20 PKK militants as deputy candidates in the general election of 1999. Sakık’s remarks fueled heated debate between the BDP and the CHP in Parliament. CHP Deputy Chairman Mustafa Özyürek denied Sakık’s revelation, saying his party had never worked in cooperation with anyone who refused to publicly denounce the PKK as a terrorist organization.

Interior Minister Atalay, in his response to the motion, accused the opposition of avoiding meetings with government representatives, including the prime minister, on the country’s most vital issues. He also denied that he had ever used any of the expressions attributed to him in the motion, adding that all witnesses confirmed this. He said the motion was based on lies.

He said all the procedures for the PKK returnees had been carried out in accordance with the law. Atalay accused the opposition of exploiting the returns to obscure their real importance. “The only way to end terrorism is to make sure they [terrorists] lay down their arms,” Atalay said.