Accusing CHP of allying with FETÖ a comedy: Leader

Deniz Zeyrek - ANKARA

Accusing the Republican People’s Party (CHP) of supporting the Gülen movement is nothing but comedy, the social democratic party’s leader has said, blaming the Justice and Development Party (AKP) for preparing the conditions for the failed coup through its generous support to the Gülen movement since it came to power. 

“I can’t stop laughing when I read all these [accusations],” main opposition CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu told daily Hürriyet in a phone interview on Oct. 24.

“Our entire political life has been spent against [religious] communities that tried to seize control of the state. The AKP, however, is the one that supported these communities. We have never defended coup plotters or Gülenists. We have only defended the rule of law,” he said.

Kılıçdaroğlu was responding to criticisms voiced by some leading AKP personalities who have been trying to associate the CHP with the Gülenist movement, claiming that the social democrat failed to remove members of the community who had infiltrated the party.

Noting that some prominent civil servants and members of the military who had served in the years when the Gülen movement was able to increase its influence within the state had information to a parliamentary panel investigating the July 15 coup, Kılıçdaroğlu said: “They informed the panel about their actions when they were in office. One of them who had access to the state secrets told the panel that they had expressed their concerns to the government at that time. If you look at the newspapers’ archives, you will openly see the government’s support to this community.”   

The government cooperated with the Gülen movement in paving the way for the dismissal of a slew of high-ranking military personnel, including generals, so that they could be replaced by Gülenists, Kılıçdaroğlu said. “I make a call from here: MİT [National Intelligence Organization] submits intelligence reports about all terror organizations at MGK [National Security Council] meetings. They should reveal their reports on FETÖ as well. There is nothing to hide now.” 

The CHP chief accused the AKP government of passing laws and appointing civil servants upon the Gülenists’ call, saying: “And in return, the [Gülen] community helped the AKP get control of the state. They became two parallel structures. The fight began through the Dec. 17 and 25 [2013] operations. A conflict between these two parallel structures began at that time. They should now account for it. Was it us who appointed these generals? They were the ones in the power. In fact, the real government was FETÖ?”

‘I hope common sense will prevail’

On the government’s efforts to go to a referendum to change the constitution to adopt the presidential system, Kılıçdaroğlu criticized such a political campaign at a moment when the country has so many problems. 

“He [President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan] is violating the constitution. The principle on the [president’s] neutrality has been breached. What is the shortcoming of the parliamentary system? Why is the president intervening into parliamentary affairs?” he asked.   

Expressing his belief that common sense would prevail in parliament and that lawmakers would not vote in favor or going to a referendum for such a change, Kılıçdaroğlu said: “I don’t know how Mr. Bahçeli will act. But granting all the power to one man will drag the country into chaos. I hope common sense will prevail in parliament.” 

Kılıçdaroğlu referred to Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli’s conditional support to the government’s plan to introduce a draft constitutional amendment with a presidential system.