Kurdish Politician
Responds to Turkish Military Chief
Turkish Zaman
Oct 3, 2007
The pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DPT) on Monday responded to a
statement by Turkish general Yaşar Buyukanıt calling for legal measures to stop
the DTP, which is represented in Parliament.
In a speech Monday morning at the Istanbul Military Academy, Gen. Buyukanıt
recalled statements from DTP members refusing to acknowledge publicly that the
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is a terrorist organization, saying: “These
statements are grave, and precautions should be taken against them.” Hours
later, the head of the DTP’s parliamentary group, Ahmet Turk, responded in a
speech at a parliamentary reception, claiming that his party was being made a
target.
“We are faced with a mentality that does not call the terrorist organization
‘terrorist,’ that defines members of the terrorist organization as ‘our
brothers’ and that refers to the Turkish Armed Forces [TSK] as ‘separatists,’”
asserted Buyukanıt. “A solution within the law absolutely has to be found,” the
military chief stressed, calling for legal action to be taken against the DTP.
In his reaction later that evening, Turk asserted: “We are being turned into
targets for thinking differently. We are the ones who make an effort to put an
end to violence and clashes, but they are trying to make us seem like the ones
responsible. We have turned into a party that is being made a target, as if we
are the reason for all of this [separatist violence].”
Both Turk’s later statement and Buyukanıt earlier speech made their mark at the
evening reception in Parliament yesterday. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
appeared to disagree with the top general. He said he hadn’t seen the complete
text of the general’s speech, but added: “Those who are in Parliament have come
here through a legal process. They come here by legal, not illegal, means. If
there is any situation that is outside the law, then the judiciary will take the
necessary action. Has the Supreme Election Board made any negative decision
[about the DTP’s participation in Parliament]? No.”
In response to a question about what course of action his party would take in
regard to possible moves to lift the legislative immunity of the DTP deputies,
Erdogan said it did not make sense to announce a stance for a still-hypothetical
situation. Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli also responded
to questions from the press concerning the statements made by the DTP, saying,
“These people [DTP members] don’t know what they are saying,” and accusing them
of not having remained loyal to their parliamentary oaths.
