Meeting boosts hopes for constructive opposition

Erdoğan, also the leader of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), met with the CHP leader to discuss Turkey's critical issues, in particular the rising tide of terrorism. The meeting was long expected, since the two parties' leaders have rarely met since the AK Party came to power in 2002. Former CHP Chairman Deniz Baykal, who was replaced by Kılıçdaroğlu in May, met with Erdoğan only five times in eight years.

“We would gladly lend our support [to the government] to end terrorism if needed,” the CHP leader said while speaking to reporters following the meeting. He said they have similar opinions on the issue of fighting terrorism.

The meeting raised hopes for consensus among political party leaders, who have been at odds on even the country's most critical issues. “The meeting was very positive. There was massive pressure from the public for the two leaders to meet. Kılıçdaroğlu and Erdoğan met this expectation,” Sabah daily columnist Nazlı Ilıcak told Today's Zaman.

The meeting was held at Kılıçdaroğlu's chambers in the Parliament building. Kılıçdaroğlu welcomed Erdoğan at the door of his office. Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek, Interior Minister Beşir Atalay and Public Order and Safety Undersecretary Muammer Güler accompanied the prime minister. The CHP's Secretary-General Önder Sav, parliamentary group deputy chairman Kemal Anadol and CHP Deputy Chairman Hakkı Süha Okay were also present at the meeting, which lasted one-and-a-half hours.

According to Bugün daily columnist Ahmet Taşgetiren, yesterday’s meeting was a promising picture for Turkish democracy. Noting that the prime minister’s meetings with political party leaders are noteworthy in general, he said terrorism and the Kurdish issue, which are interrelated, are issues which should be addressed with contributions from all political parties. “The prime minister does not want to be alone in addressing these problems. If a consensus appears, the country would be relieved to a considerable extent,” he said. Stating that Erdoğan and his colleagues informed them about the measures taken by the government on terrorism and asked them for their opinions, Kılıçdaroğlu said that they conveyed the CHP’s opinions on the issue’s economic and social dimensions.

Erdoğan reportedly told Kılıçdaroğlu that professional soldiers would be deployed in military outposts along the border with northern Iraq, where Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists are based. Stating that the government makes a distinction between the democratic initiative it launched last year to address the Kurdish issue and the issue of terrorism, Erdoğan said Turkey’s counterterrorism efforts will continue at full speed. While Kılıçdaroğlu insistently asked the prime minister about details of the structure of professional teams to be deployed along the border, Erdoğan did not comment on this, saying he would make a detailed statement on the issue on Friday.

Kılıçdaroğlu brought some proposals to Erdoğan during the meeting, which mainly focused on the CHP’s view that improving the economy of the Southeast is the best solution to terrorism. Recalling that Erdoğan told him that investments amounting to $25 billion have been made in the region, mainly in road and hospital construction, Kılıçdaroğlu said these are not enough. “There is a serious unemployment problem in the region. The private sector is not going to the region for investment. So the state should go and establish factories to create employment there,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.

He also added that they proposed that the government give mined land to landless villagers after clearing it of mines. Aside from his proposals on addressing terrorism, Kılıçdaroğlu also urged Erdoğan to lower the 10 percent election threshold to 7 percent and to abolish specially authorized courts.

Ilıcak says she was expecting Kılıçdaroğlu to bring more detailed proposals about the Kurdish issue and terrorism to the table, but he limited these issues to economy-related solutions, as he had before. “Maybe, they did not speak about these issues in detail since this was their first meeting,” she said.

Contrary to expectations, the CHP leader did not bring up Baykal’s video scandal during the meeting. News sources said ahead of the meeting that Kılıçdaroğlu was planning to ask the prime minister about what the government has done to find those who leaked the video. A website broadcast a two-part video without audio in early May allegedly showing Baykal in a compromising position with a CHP deputy. The recordings seemed to have been made using hidden cameras, one of which was placed in a wardrobe. Baykal announced his immediate resignation from party leadership amid fallout from the video clip and pointed to the AK Party as being responsible for the emergence of the video. Erdoğan previously said the CHP should ask the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office about the fate of the investigation rather than the government.

Erdoğan: Opposition parties should also come together

Erdoğan said following the meeting with Kılıçdaroğlu that he will evaluate his meetings with political party leaders on Friday at his party’s expanded provincial chairmen meeting. In response to a question on whether he plans to meet with the opposition leaders again, Erdoğan said he would like to, but he said opposition parties should also meet with each other to exchange views on critical issues. “It would be also fruitful if the opposition parties came together to reach a common point on issues related to the country’s future,” he said. The prime minister said he still is not planning to meet with leaders of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) or the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). Erdoğan sent letters to leaders of political parties requesting a meeting to discuss the rising tide of terrorism in the country over the weekend. He sent letters to Kılıçdaroğlu, Democratic Left Party (DSP) head Masum Türker, Grand Unity Party (BBP) leader Yalçın Topçu and Felicity Party (SP) head Numan Kurtulmuş.

The prime minister did not, however, send out letters to MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli or BDP Chairman Selahattin Demirtaş because, according to the AK Party, they “benefit from terrorism.” During yesterday’s meeting, Kılıçdaroğlu reportedly told the prime minister that he should, “despite everything,” meet with the two leaders as well.