April 2, 2008

Democratic Society Party (DTP) parliamentary group leader Ahmet Türk has said the appeal to disband the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is a product of a clash among forces within the state.
 

Türk, speaking at his party’s parliamentary group meeting yesterday, said the AK Party closure case is a consequence of a power war within the state. “There are three states in Turkey. The first one wants Turkey to change and move ahead on its road to full membership in the European Union; the second one aims to protect the status-quo in the country and the last one wants to make the state a gang-like deep state,” he said.
A prosecutor on March 14 requested the closure of the ruling AK Party and a ban on 71 of its high-level officials from engaging in politics for five years, including President Gül (a former AK Party member) and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Emphasizing that the 85-year-old republican system in Turkey has finally reached an impasse, he noted that there are circles which wish to deprive the public of democracy. “They are afraid to see that the public wants more freedom and democracy. That’s why they attack politics and political parties. They do so to secure the status quo and dominance over society. They despise society,” he said.

Türk stressed that Turkey’s problems should be solved in Parliament, adding that military solutions cannot be a remedy to the country’s problems.

“The AK Party should certainly not show itself as the victim of clashes among intra-state forces. The AK Party has contributed to the eruption of these clashes. They couldn’t use the power vested in them by the nation in an effective manner. Unfortunately, the ruling party is responsible for the current situation in our country,” he said.

Türk also accused the AK Party of not defending democracy from forces that support the status quo.

“If you had fought against these forces for democracy, the Turkish democracy would not be in such peril now. It is never too late for democratic reform. Let’s start a war of independence for democracy. Let’s fight all together against those who resist change. The solution of the Kurdish problem would be the biggest step to democratize all of Turkey. One will either surrender to the status quo or be its victim if he turns a blind eye to the Kurdish problem. Let’s make Turkey the graveyard of the status quo, not a graveyard of political parties,” stated Türk.