Journalist Aydın Ayaydın, a candidate for deputy from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), has declared support for the ongoing trial of Ergenekon, a clandestine criminal network accused of working to overthrow the government, saying criminals should be called to account regardless of their titles or positions.
“There are gangs and mafias within Ergenekon. I find the [Ergenekon] trial right. I see many people [on trial] whom I believe are guilty. … No matter what their titles or positions are, a man should be called to account and punished if he committed a crime,” the candidate told Today’s Zaman.
Ayaydın’s remarks are in direct contradiction with what CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has said about Ergenekon. According to Kılıçdaroğlu, Ergenekon is a not a clandestine group and its suspected members are being held in prison due to their opposition to the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and its government. Currently dozens of suspected members of Ergenekon are under arrest. Among them are members of the military, businessmen, journalists and academics.
Ayaydın also stated that innocent people may have been included among the Ergenekon suspects. “I am afraid that some people are being held [in prison] for Ergenekon membership despite the fact that they are innocent due to their opposition to the government,” he noted.
According to the candidate, the CHP will manage to garner over 30 percent of the national vote in the June 12 general elections. In the 2007 elections, the main opposition party won only around 20 percent of the votes cast. “We will become the first party in many provinces and district that are believed to be the strongholds of the AK Party,” he said.
In response to a question about CHP’s opinion about Islam, Ayaydın expressed dislike of the widespread conviction that the CHP is against Islam. “There are many people in the party [CHP] who are religious. There are at least as many pious people in the CHP as in the AK Party,” he said, and added that acts considered disrespectful to Islam may be committed by CHP members, but they are individual acts and cannot be attributed to the entire party.
According to Ayaydın, Gülen is a man of religion and should not be implicated in such scandals. “I find it wrong to implicate Gülen in such incidents. He is a man known and respected not only in Turkey but also in the entire world. He is a man of religion. I do not think it is right to implicate him either in the video clip scandal or in politics.”
Published on Today's Zaman, 18 May 2011, Wednesday
