CHP asks for inquiry into PM Erdoğan

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

The CHP has proposed opening a parliamentary inquiry into Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on charges of interfering with the judiciary.

The proposal, introduced yesterday to the Parliamentary Speaker’s Office, concerns a Sept. 5 quote from Erdoğan in which he said, “We’ve already told the judiciary what is necessary; the judiciary is doing what is necessary. We will also do what is necessary in Parliament,” in relation to lifting the immunity of pro-Kurdish deputies for alleged links to militants.

Later, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) officials said Erdoğan’s remarks were simply a slip of the tongue.

Censure motion

Meanwhile, CHP has submitted a censure motion against Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu over his policy implementations, which they claim put the country’s security at risk.

“Turkey is interfering in the internal politics of its neighbors and is on the brink of war because of the dangerous and adventurist foreign policy of Ahmet Davutoğlu, who hides the truth from Parliament and from people while doing this. His policies, which may cause an internal conflict among the Turkish people, are against our national interests,” read the CHP’s motion, which was submitted to Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek’s office yesterday.

The CHP had previously announced that the party would submit a censure motion against Davutoğlu on party head Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu’s instruction upon the Oct. 1 reopening of Parliament. Previous CHP moves against Davutoğlu at Parliament have been blocked by the AKP majority. The CHP has been voicing harsh criticism against Turkish government’s foreign policy on the turmoil-hit Syria since the beginning of the crisis. The main opposition party voiced particular criticism after allegations that Syrian rebel soldiers were being trained in Turkish territory spread. The presence of Syrian rebel soldiers in Turkey was officially acknowledged earlier in September, after a CHP delegation was refused permission to visit the Apaydın refugee camp near Hatay. The Foreign Ministry said that Apaydın camp was hosting defected Syrian soldiers, but denied training claims. Parliament’s Human Rights Commission visited the camp on Sept. 3 and also refuted the rumors that militants were being trained there.