They target me because they can’t criticize US or Russia: CHP head Kılıçdaroğlu

Deniz Zeyrek - DİYARBAKIR

The leaders of the “yes” camp in the referendum campaign to shift Turkey to an executive presidential system cannot successfully defend their position, so prefer to attack the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and its leader, CHP head Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has said.

Kılıçdaroğlu said President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan cannot target the U.S. and Russia, so instead targets the CHP. 

“He cannot raise his voice against [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. He cannot raise his voice against the United States. They have both supported the [Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units] YPG and established bases in northern Iraq and in Syria. Turkish troops are now isolated in Syria, but those who shout against Germany and the Netherlands are afraid of shouting against America and Russia,” Kılıçdaroğlu told reporters en route to the southeastern province of Diyarbakir on March 25.  

The CHP leader also recalled the recent Israeli ban on the use of loudspeakers to amplify calls to prayer in mosques, questioning why Erdoğan has not criticized the ban. 

“Instead he says, ‘Hey Kılıçdaroğlu!’ This shows how weak he is and how isolated he is in the world,” he said.

Kılıçdaroğlu criticized the government for picking quarrels with other countries in order to “create the image that the whole world is against us,” saying that this tactic not only damaged Turkey but also Turks abroad. 
Addressing the negative direction of the Turkish economy, the CHP head said investments have stopped and the rising dollar can only be checked with unregistered money. 

“Turkey has reached the position of becoming a money laundering country,” he stated, adding that blame for problems lies not with the parliamentary system but with bad administration. 

Kılıçdaroğlu said political leaders in the “yes” camp choose to target him because they have not strong arguments to defend the charter change. 

“I am trying to explain why the constitutional amendment should be rejected. Meanwhile, they are trying increase ‘yes’ votes by attacking me,” he added.

“Yes” votes in favor of “one-man rule” should consider the situation in Iraq, Syria and Libya to see the model they have been proposing for Turkey, Kılıçdaroğlu said. 

The CHP leader stressed that the constitutional amendments proposed should not be considered in terms of a particular person or party, but rather about the way Turkey is administered. 

“‘Yes’ votes may be in favor of a particular person, but this could lay the ground for major mistakes by others in the future, he said. 

Kılıçdaroğlu also stressed that nationalist grassroots did not fell into “trap” like Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Devlet Bahçeli, and would vote overwhelmingly in favor of “no.”