Brought to the agenda after the Erdoğan-Özel meeting: What was discussed in the Baykal-Erdoğan meetings in 2002 and 2006?

Yesterday, the return visit made by President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to the CHP was widely discussed.

Sözcü columnist Saygı Öztürk stated that this meeting was not a first, saying; "There have been mutual visits between the AKP Chairman and the CHP Chairman in the past as well. Although it is said that this is the first time a CHP Chairman, Özgür Özel, has gone to the AKP Headquarters, the first visit was made by Deniz Baykal 22 years ago. Let us go back a little in time..."

THE 2002 AKP VISIT

Öztürk said the following in the relevant section of his column:

"The AKP won the general parliamentary elections held in 2002. CHP Chairman Deniz Baykal, following an evaluation with party executives, stated that a 'congratulatory' visit to the AKP Headquarters would be appropriate both for parliamentary work and from a humanitarian perspective. The CHP delegation included Deniz Baykal, Secretary General Önder Sav, and Deputy Chairmen Eşref Erdem and Mehmet Sevigen. The AKP delegation included Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Abdullah Gül, Bülent Arınç, Yaşar Yakış, and Ertuğrul Yalçınbayır."

WHAT WAS DISCUSSED IN 2002?

In the first year the AKP came to power, there were concerns among the public that Atatürk's principles and Republican values would be eroded and that people's lifestyles would be interfered with. Eşref Erdem, a former CHP Deputy Chairman and a witness to that meeting, explained: “During our visit to the AKP in 2002, Deniz Bey made important remarks about not playing with Atatürk, the Republic, secularism, democratic rights and freedoms, and the sensitivities of Turkish society. He voiced the sensitivities of the public. He said, 'Do not touch this, do not touch that.' He explained the sensitivities of the CHP and issued a serious warning against touching them. The visit Erdoğan paid to our party in 2006 was to wish us well for our new headquarters. No important issues were discussed there. In other words, the 2002 and 2006 meetings were very different.”

(Former CHP Chairman Deniz Baykal's 2002 visit to the AKP Headquarters - Deniz Baykal and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan) 

"THAT VISIT WAS VERY IMPORTANT"

Ertuğrul Yalçınbayır, an AKP Bursa Deputy and Deputy Prime Minister at the time, stated that when CHP Chairman Deniz Baykal, his deputies Eşref Erdem and Mehmet Sevigen, and Secretary General Önder Sav came to pay a congratulatory visit, Baykal gave very important messages. Yalçınbayır explained:

“Baykal said that he 'considered it a political shame that Tayyip Bey remained outside of Parliament due to a political ban, and that he was against the closure of political parties.' We received the message and understood that we could overcome the problem with a constitutional amendment. The constitutional amendment we prepared was turned back by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer on the grounds that 'there can be no regulation specific to an individual.' We stated that it was not specific to an individual, but a necessity of normalization. Baykal's sincerity was evident. Support was given to the constitutional amendment. Baykal mentioned that cases had been filed against parties before and that there were parties that had been closed down, and he explained that sensitivities on this issue should be taken into account and that they would never give up on secularism, the social state of law, and Atatürk's principles. That visit was very important.” 

"ERDOĞAN POINTED OUT THOSE PLOTS OF LAND"

Erdoğan came to the CHP Headquarters in 2006 as Prime Minister. Deputy Chairman Mustafa Özyürek, who was present at that visit, explained: “I have known Erdoğan since 1989. When Erdoğan came to our headquarters with his delegation, an AKP official was telling a joke at one point. I think he must have heard this joke for the umpteenth time, so he went to the window and started looking outside. I went to his side so he wouldn't be alone. He asked me, 'Hey, whose are those plots of land across the way?' I have been coming and going for years, but I didn't even realize there was a plot of land there. When I said, 'Oh yes, there is a space there, but I swear I don't know who it belongs to,' he said, 'These are very valuable plots of land.' Then we sat back in our seats.” 

(Prime Minister and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's 'new building' visit to the CHP)

If the President had been able to look out the window during yesterday's visit, he would have seen the towers rising on those valuable plots of land.”