“To me, the MHP's attack on Gülen is tantamount to betrayal. It is a very ugly thing. Does Gülen not have any business other than dealing with Bahçeli? First, Gülen's position does not allow such a thing. The things he occupies himself with do not allow such a thing. What he did is very ugly and shameful. I condemn [Bahçeli's remarks] to the extent of betrayal,” Erdoğan said.
His remarks came during in interview with Today's Zaman in his helicopter late on Thursday as the prime minister was returning from the provinces of Balıkesir and Yalova, where he held election rallies on Thursday. MHP leader Bahçeli has come under fire for associating Gülen with several video scandals that recently rocked the party.
In the wake of recently released video clips involving four senior members of the MHP having affairs with women and insulting right-wing voters, Bahçeli accused those “beyond the [Atlantic] ocean” of having a role in the emergence of the video clip scandals.
He was referring to Gülen, who currently resides in the US. The scholar, who has pioneered educational activities in a number of countries, along with efforts to promote intercultural and interfaith activities around the world, strongly denies Bahçeli’s accusations.
In later remarks he made to a Turkish daily, Bahçeli increased his attacks on Gülen, saying: “I deeply regret that Turkey is locked in the equilateral triangle of [Prime Minister Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan, Gülen and [outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah] Öcalan.”
Call to retract statement
His remarks placing Erdoğan and Gülen in the same category as the PKK leader who has been masterminding a bloody war in Turkey’s Southeast since 1984, brought Bahçeli further criticism. Erdoğan called on Bahçeli to review his statements and deal with his mistakes and said: “I believe that my idealist brothers with common sense are also seriously disturbed by his statements. Such an approach is unacceptable.”
Erdoğan also commented on his Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) election campaign, saying he is very pleased about the public interest in his party.
Turkey will go to polls on June 12 for parliamentary elections. The AK Party aims to come to power again for their third term as a single-party government. When asked about opposition parties and whether he would prefer current Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu or former CHP leader Deniz Baykal as a rival, Erdoğan avoided making a choice between the two. Yet, he said Kılıçdaroğlu who assumed the party’s leadership by raising supporter’s hopes, is no longer a source of hope for his party.
The prime minister criticized Kılıçdaroğlu for directing accusations against the government without providing any evidence to prove his claims. “He lies a lot. His face never goes red. He is defaming our party. He constantly brings forward corruption claims about our party but he fails to provide a single document as evidence,” Erdoğan said.
Regarding whether the MHP will be able to pass the 10 percent election threshold, Erdoğan said: “It is not my problem. We will see on the night of June 12. Some surveys show it above the threshold while others show it below. We just deal with our own business.” Erdoğan also commented on the rising tension in election rallies, saying it always happens in politics.
“This [tension] is in the genes of politics. I have never seen politics made softly. What did [former opposition leader] Süleyman Demirel say to [former President] Turgut Özal, a close friend of his? He said, ‘I will bring him down from Çankaya [presidential palace].’”
Published on Today's Zaman, 13 May 2011, Friday
