İYİ Party leader Dervişoğlu points out that detail in Bahçeli's 'Öcalan' call

The handshake between Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahçeli and DEM Party deputies at the opening of the TBMM, followed by his call for the leader of the terrorist organization PKK, Abdullah Öcalan, to "come and speak in Parliament," continues to occupy the agenda.

İYİ Party Chairman Müsavat Dervişoğlu, who showed his strongest reaction to Bahçeli's Öcalan call by throwing a 'rope' (a reference to a previous political gesture), made evaluations regarding the agenda.

Speaking to Cumhuriyet, Dervişoğlu leveled harsh criticisms at Bahçeli's call regarding Öcalan.

"THE REAL SUBJECT IS THE RELEASE OF ÖCALAN"

Stating that Bahçeli occasionally makes statements unrelated to his ideological background, Dervişoğlu said, "You cannot identify the subject in Bahçeli's speeches," and noted the following:

"After the 1999 elections, he says, 'Let Fazilet and DYP rest.' You think the subject of the sentence is 'Fazilet and DYP.' The real subject is 'Let Ecevit be prime minister.' There is a presidential election in 2017. 'We will fulfill the requirements of democracy, law, justice, and the constitution, and for this reason, we will enter the TBMM.' You think the subject is law, justice, and the constitution, but the subject is 'Let Abdullah Gül be president.'

Here, too, the parliamentary podium was shown as the subject. He said, 'Let Abdullah Öcalan come to the TBMM, speak at the DEM Party group podium, and declare that terrorism has ended.' But the real subject is not the parliamentary podium; it is the release of Abdullah Öcalan.” 

Recalling his words at his party's group meeting, Dervişoğlu stated, “Abdullah Öcalan does not live in Aşağı Ayrancı. For him to come to the TBMM, he must first get out of the prison in İmralı. But by hiding these subjects, he makes speeches that are in need of interpretation. From the moment he entered Turkish political life, he has been putting similar things into practice.”

"ÖCALAN WAS HANDED OVER TO TURKEY TO BE RELEASED AFTER 25 YEARS"

Dervişoğlu said, “Of course, I can conclude that this is tied to previously planned projects and perhaps previously given commitments. When Abdullah Öcalan was handed over, it was being discussed at that time. Abdullah Öcalan was handed over to Turkey, and 25 years were mentioned. That is, he was handed over to Turkey to be released after 25 years.”

Pointing out that the end of said 25 years has arrived, Dervişoğlu evaluated, “Therefore, a step that needs to be taken to implement a commitment might be necessary. To block the area most likely to react to this, in terms of reactions, this might be made to be uttered by someone who thinks they are the owner of the Turkish nationalism brand. When similar moves were made, he made many moves that harmed his own party. Instead of taking into account the damage his party would suffer politically, he may have considered himself tasked with fulfilling a commitment.”

"THE REAL OWNER OF THAT HAND IS RECEP TAYYİP ERDOĞAN"

Regarding Bahçeli's handshake with DEM Party members, Dervişoğlu evaluated, “Mr. Devlet did not shake hands; he extended a hand. Because Turkey has experienced handshakes many times. Mr. Bahçeli said that he extended a hand to the DEM based on the speech Tayyip Bey made at the opening of that legislative year in the TBMM, taking it upon himself as a duty. Therefore, he also stated that he extended the hand on behalf of the People's Alliance (Cumhur İttifakı). The real owner of that hand is Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.” 

Underlining that he does not link the appointment of trustees (kayyum) to Bahçeli's words, Dervişoğlu said, “When you look at the past, look at what they said about each other. Therefore, I think there is no benefit in making an evaluation by centering their rhetoric.” Dervişoğlu added, “I believe that the cause of the tension in Turkey essentially stems from the infrastructure work that will ensure Erdoğan becomes a presidential candidate again. First of all, all politicians must remind the President that he cannot be a candidate again. Erdoğan, who has been governing this country for 22 years, has the right to be president twice, as granted by the Constitution. There is no point in trying to circumvent this just because certain opportunities have been presented to him in the Constitution.”

"ACCORDING TO THE CONSTITUTION, ERDOĞAN CANNOT BE A CANDIDATE TWICE"

Dervişoğlu also spoke about the re-candidacy of AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Emphasizing that according to the Constitution, Erdoğan cannot be a candidate twice, Dervişoğlu said, “There is one condition for him to be a candidate. If the TBMM decides on an early election with a three-fifths majority, that is, a qualified majority, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gains the right to be a candidate one more time. Now they have made the opposition utter this. I say, let the opposition come out and say, 'Recep Tayyip Erdoğan cannot be a candidate.'”

Dervişoğlu added, “But there is also this side to it; Erdoğan has a political character suitable for developing a strategy based on tension in order to ensure this and to organize politics. The moment the opposition closes its doors to constitutional amendments, early elections, and Erdoğan's strategies, there will be no reason left to create social tension in Turkey.”