Kılıçdaroğlu kicked off a debate over the weekend when he said his party would back a general amnesty if that would help settle the long-standing Kurdish question. “If that would be part of social peace, we are ready to say ‘yes' to a general amnesty,” he remarked on Sunday, delivering a speech in the southeastern province of Batman.
However, in televised comments on Tuesday, he said his remarks were misinterpreted. “I did not say there should be a general amnesty. There is unemployment and poverty in Batman. We will solve the problem of unemployment in Batman, and we won’t refer to poverty as an economic issue. Terrorism will come to an end after we achieve these things. If a demand for a general amnesty comes after that, we would also consider it. This is what I implied. It is impossible to understand why it was interpreted that we want a general amnesty. My remarks are being distorted,” he said.
Kılıçdaroğlu’s latest remarks came in the wake of the strong opposition he received both from his own party and other opposition parties. The first response to Kılıçdaroğlu’s remarks, however, came from his party. According to CHP parliamentary group deputy chairman Hakkı Suha Okay, the main opposition party would by no means discuss the prospect of a general amnesty given the fact that acts of terrorism also occur in cities, not solely in the mountains. “A general amnesty is not possible at all. The terrorists in the mountains should lay down their arms first,” Okay remarked. On Tuesday, CHP leader Deniz Baykal also lashed out at Kılıçdaroğlu for bringing such a proposal to the country’s agenda. “Those remarks are wrong. It is not right to bring such proposals to the agenda,” he said, and added that he does not share Kılıçdaroğlu’s views.
Kılıçdaroğlu apparently made the statement to explain that he “was misunderstood” upon the instructions of CHP leader Baykal, according to many. “As you see, the person behind the correction was Baykal. He said frankly in his parliamentary group meeting speech on Tuesday that ‘those remarks are wrong.’ As we were thinking about whether he would once again make a U-turn, Kılıçdaroğlu, who sometimes revolts against the ruling mentality within the party and stirs up excitement in the public, proved right those who say ‘he cannot be a party leader,” Star daily columnist Şamil Tayyar wrote in his column yesterday. Kılıçdaroğlu is seen by many as an alternative CHP leader to Baykal.
Kılıçdaroğlu’s retreat from his position on a general amnesty is not the first case in which he has changed his opinions after meeting with opposition from his party, particularly from his leader, Baykal. Kılıçdaroğlu displayed similar behavior late last year regarding a debate over remarks by CHP Deputy Chairman Onur Öymen, who offended Turkey’s Alevi community in a speech he made in Parliament.
