The longest day for the AK Party

Hüseyin Gülerce

Dec. 25, 2013 was the longest day for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). Ankara was in chaos: Three ministers who were implicated in a recent graft probe resigned.

Former Environment and Urban Planning Minister Erdoğan Bayraktar said, "I believe the prime minister should step down as well in order to relieve the Turkish public." However, the resolution regarding the Cabinet reshuffle, announced in the Official Gazette, listed him as one of the ministers removed from office by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

About a third of the Cabinet was affected by the reshuffle. Nine new ministers were appointed. İdris Naim Şahin, former Interior Minister and a close friend of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, resigned from the AK Party, accusing it of being ruled by oligarchs. The Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) launched an investigation into the prosecutors who are in charge of the ongoing graft probe. The police chiefs in the İstanbul Police Department refused to obey prosecutors who wanted them to make new detentions under the graft probe. The Ankara Public Prosecutor's Office announced that they had launched an investigation regarding public tenders at the Turkish State Railways (TCDD).

The chaos or turmoil in the country is very serious and spreading quickly. It can no longer be passed off as a mere row between the government and the Hizmet movement or the Community. The police department and the judiciary are increasingly becoming polarized beyond repair.

A Cabinet reshuffle, albeit large-scale, may slow down the chaos, but it is not enough to eliminate it. The recent reshuffle is like fixing snow tires onto your car. It is one of the urgent measures you must take but you must take into consideration driving safety, driver errors, weather conditions and the mistakes made by other drivers as well.

Now, we must receive damage assessment reports for not only the government and the Community, but also for the entire country. Indeed, in the final analysis, the ongoing turmoil will take its toll on the country.

We must seek a safe haven: common sense, common wisdom and rule of law...

This can be done only with wise conduct by the government. Measures must be urgently taken to defuse the tension at once. Given the previous crises, no government can overcome so many problems alone. In my opinion, the first thing the prime minister must do is stop targeting the Hizmet movement. He must stop accusing the Hizmet movement of implicit or explicit charges. He must abandon his habit of placing the blame on the Community for immoral or unethical acts which no Muslim would dare such as fabricating video recordings for blackmail, wiretapping or running a “parallel state.” A ruling party is not supposed to voice complaints or grumble about conspiracies against itself. It has the power to find and penalize those who engage in those abusive or unlawful acts. But it fails to do so and instead insists on hurting millions of Muslims with aspersion.

Prime Minister, stop attacking the Community. Invest your energy and labor in bringing the country to the safe haven of the rule of law. Model the country after global anti-corruption efforts to combat fraud. Urgently pass bills to embolden transparency.

Do not forget that by offending one's close friends or slandering them, one speeds up the end of one's political career. The party management might offer explanations for the resignations of Bayraktar and Şahin. Spin doctors in the media might devise excuses for them. But this does not cover up the facts. It is better to see these resignations as alarm bells.

The people who have always sought stability, peace and fraternity cannot be expected to meddle with the government of the Turkish republic. It is treasonous to block Turkey's progress. May God inhibit those who seek to hinder the government and those who collaborate with others in this regard to poison our future!

Published on Today's Zaman, 26 December 2013, Thursday