Ruling AKP rejects opposition motion for inquiry into FETÖ’s political establishment

ANKARA

(AP photo)

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has rejected the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) proposal to set up a parliamentary commission to investigate the political establishment of FETÖ, the group behind the defeated coup attempt of 2016.

Speaking to reporters, AKP deputy chair Mehmet Muş said the CHP has not shown “real effort” after the coup and calling for such a research commission years after the coup attempt has a political subtext.

“Four years have passed since the coup. [The CHP] wants to use this as a [tool for] political propaganda,” Muş said.

“We did not hear a single word from the CHP when we were putting up an uphill battle with FETÖ,” he added.

Muş called on the CHP to notice the relevant authorities if they have any new information regarding the matter. He said that if they gathered new information and did not refer it to the prosecution, “that’s a different issue.”

The deputy chair also said that his party does not find the CHP’s inquiry initiatives “serious” and accused them of “cooperating with FETÖ.”

The CHP on Jan. 12 submitted a research proposal to the speaker’s office of parliament, under the signatures of the party’s group deputy chairs Engin Altay, Özgür Özel and Engin Özkoç.

In the proposal text, the party asked parliament to “reveal the political leg of the organization at a time when criticism from different political parties rose over the suggestion that the struggle against FETÖ was diluted and FETÖ’s political leg was not fought against enough.”

Previously, Altay called on Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli to support the parliamentary inquiry commission.

Nevertheless, after the submission, Bahçeli ruled out the possibility of cooperation with the CHP on the commission, saying the MHP “doesn’t trust” the CHP.

“We have no intention on cooperating with the CHP in any of its proposals,” he had said.

In the meantime, after the CHP’s Central Executive Board (MYK) meeting on Jan. 13, party spokesperson Faik Öztrak said the matter is a “scar on the public conscience” and “should be revealed as soon as possible.”

Öztrak also called on the AKP and MHP to submit their own proposals for the investigation.

“They have the majority [in parliament]. If they do not trust us and do not want us to even vote, then we will abstain from their proposal. But let’s see what the level of commitment between the People’s Alliance is,” he said.

The AKP and the MHP formed the People’s Alliance ahead of the June 24, 2018 elections, after their joint efforts to win the referendum to shift to a presidential system in 2017. The alliance was extended into the March 31 local elections.