Opposition MHP head says coup trials should be ‘swiftly concluded’

ANKARA

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) head Develt Bahçeli has stressed the importance of a swift conclusion to the trials of suspects in the case into the July 2016 coup attempt, believed to have been masterminded by the movement of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen. 

“The trial processes of those who are responsible [for ending the lives of] our 249 martyrs and the injury of more than 2,000 should not be further extended. Those who did the bombing and the places where they have bombed are well known. But their trials are still being impeded,” Bahçeli told reporters on June 25. 

“These [trials] should be ended quickly,” he added. 

Military personnel widely seen as being loyal to Gülen attempted to topple the government through a coup on the night of July 15, 2016. The trial processes of coup plotters began in recent months. 

Bahçeli underlined the need for the “complete elimination” of all terror organizations in Turkey by the end of 2017, including what prosecutors and the government refer to as the Fethullahist Terror Organization (FETÖ) and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). 

“Any internal or external threat on Turkey should be eliminated,” he said. 

“July 15 was a day of massacre and betrayal. Since then 346 days have passed. The first anniversary of the coup attempt will be marked in 21 days. This should be evaluated from all dimensions,” he added, noting that the MHP is in a process of making a “general assessment” of what has taken place in Turkey since the coup attempt. 

 “Have we been able to remove all implications of the coup attempt? Has Turkey been able to enter a process of normalization?” Bahçeli said.

MHP blasts CHP’s march 

The MHP leader also continued his criticism of main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) head Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu’s “justice march” from Ankara to Istanbul, kicked off CHP deputy Enis Berberoğlu was jailed on espionage charges. 

“Kılıçdaroğlu is now ‘marching for justice.’ But he should clarify some of the concepts he has been using during his march. What does Kılıçdaroğlu understand of July 15? What does he mean by highlighting July 20 instead?” Bahçeli said, referring to Kılıçdaroğlu’s recent claim that Turkey observed “two different coups in July 2016,” one on July 15 and the other on July 20, when the government imposed a state of emergency across the country. 

“What’s the difference between the two? He needs to share this with the public. Which one does Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu prefer? He should explain. I advise him to think over this while walking,” added the MHP leader.