May 13, 2011

What audacity, Mr. Bahçeli

Bülent Keneş

Clearly the extremely tense election atmosphere has taken a toll on Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, who is the ringleader of a staff that has waged a war on the values of nationalist conservative constituents, who rely on ülkücülük [idealism], the ideology that defines MHP both psychological and politically.

Otherwise, he would not be talking about or targeting a volunteer-based civil society movement that derives its strength and dynamics from the values of the public and that is not a party to politics. Bahçeli is ignoring the sensitivities of his main constituents and by waging a war on the sacred values of his real constituent base he faces the risk of not being able to pass the election threshold. As a result Bahçeli is suffering from psychosis and is confused about where to attack.

Fears of poll failure, political ineptitude drive MHP’s Bahçeli to attack Fethullah Gülen

Fatma Dişli Zıbak

Fethullah Gulen - Devlet Bahceli
Fears about the Nationalist's Movement Party's (MHP) failure to pass the election threshold in the June 12 general elections and party leader Devlet Bahçeli's political ineptitude to correctly read the developments in the country prompt him to aggressively attack the Gülen community and point to it as the mastermind of the scandals shaking the MHP, observers have said.

In the wake of the video clips that have surfaced 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.

Why are they attacking Fethullah Gulen?

Gültekin Avcı

Why would anyone attack a man who made Turkish a world language and one of solidarity, who has proven himself on the world stage and who has been the reason why children in places whose names we have not even heard of are singing the folk songs of this land?

Health minister stands behind Fethullah Gülen against MHP leader's accusations

Today's Zaman

Fethullah Gulen - Devlet Bahceli
Health Minister Recep Akdağ on Thursday strongly criticized Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, who controversially pointed to well-respected Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen as the mastermind of scandals currently shaking the MHP, saying Turkey owes a debt of gratitude to Gülen for his service to the country.

In the wake of video clips that have surfaced 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.

CHP council member backs Fethullah Gülen against smear campaigns

Hüseyin Keleş / Ali Aslan Kılıç

Fethullah Gulen - Muhammed Cakmak
Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) Party Council (PM) member and theologian Muhammed Çakmak said those aiming to defame people without providing any concrete evidence will go down in history as the “slanderers of the century,” in remarks that came as clear support for Islamic scholar and intellectual Fethullah Gülen, who is a target of defamation efforts.

In the wake of the video clips that have surfaced involving four senior members of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) having affairs with women and insulting right-wing voters, MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli accused those “beyond the [Atlantic] ocean” of having a role in the emergence of the video clip scandals.

Why is the MHP escalating its war on Fethullah Gülen?

Emre Uslu

Following the leak of videotapes of senior-level Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) officials, party leader Devlet Bahçeli told his constituents that tape-based politics was being coordinated by someone from “beyond the ocean.”

Fethullah Gulen - Devlet Bahceli
Since “beyond the ocean” is known in Turkish political literature to be a reference to Fethullah Gülen, Gülen responded to the MHP. Bahçeli had targeted the Gülen community before the disclosure of the videotapes as well. After the arrest of some journalists, Bahçeli stated that “the community should suspend its activities” in an appeal to Gülen. Even though Bahçeli was forced to backpedal upon public reactions it shows that the MHP leader had been targeting the Gülen community even before the videotapes emerged.