Öcalan tension between AKP and DEM: Mutual statements issued
The controversy that began following the “Biji Serok Apo” (Long Live Leader Apo) slogans chanted for terrorist Abdullah Öcalan at the DEM Party Group Meeting continues. Responding to criticisms from AKP Spokesperson Ömer Çelik, DEM Party Spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan said, “We have no hidden agenda; we want peace and a democratic solution.”
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Women who marched from Diyarbakır to Ankara for the “Right to Hope” participated in the DEM Party Group Meeting held on October 7.
During the meeting, slogans of “Long Live Leader Apo” (Biji Serok Apo) were chanted in reference to the terrorist leader Öcalan. These slogans were both taken to the judiciary and caused intense debate in politics.
REACTION FROM AKP TO DEM PARTY
AKP Spokesperson Ömer Çelik reacted to the slogans, stating that no political party can substitute its own agenda for the country's general agenda.
In his statement, Çelik said, “No political party should mistake its own specific agenda for the agenda of the entire process. No political party should think of its own private ideological political agenda as the political agenda of the entire process.”
“VERY BIG MISTAKES ARE BEING MADE”
The response from the DEM Party was not delayed. Party Spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan stated that Ömer Çelik “failed to grasp” the process.
Doğan said, “I see that very big mistakes are being made. Slogans are chanted in every political party's group; this is an extremely democratic right. We do not have a specific or hidden agenda.”
Criticizing the AKP Spokesperson's statements, Doğan said, “Ömer Çelik has said that our agenda is hidden. However, our agenda is clear: Peace, a democratic solution, and opening paths for Mr. Öcalan to take a role in this matter. How can this be a hidden agenda?”
“DOES THE AKP HAVE ANOTHER AGENDA?”
Questioning the AKP's statements, Ayşegül Doğan also brought up whether the ruling party might have a different intention:
Doğan concluded her statement with these words:
“We have no hidden agenda. We do not have an agenda that we place before anything else. We have a single agenda: Dialogue, negotiation, peace, and a democratic solution. It is that clear and explicit.”