Striking 'absolute nullity' comment from Anahtar Party leader Ağıralioğlu: 'It would have caused less damage if they had shut it down'

Stating that the government's stance and rhetoric on interest rates do not align, Ağıralioğlu said the following:

"The government claims to act in accordance with the President's supposed sensitivities, but what is happening right now is this: a 1 million lira debt could not be paid on time. Let's say it became 4 million. You are restructuring a 4 million debt. 9 million is being paid. In other words, there is an area where a 1 million debt is paid as 9 million lira. There are 2.5 million people facing this grievance and this restructuring in this area. If it were 20-30 thousand people, you would say, 'well, they went bankrupt because they didn't know how to do business.' But if you are making a regulation that concerns 2 to 2.5 million people, it means you are managing your country poorly. You call this restructuring interest on top of the principal, and then you restructure the interest on the interest. In the last press conference, I got angry because that is the sentiment of our nation. I said, 'The government needs to decide whether it is a government or a loan shark.' I mean, charging interest on interest like this is loan sharking. Now, since the government is charging interest on interest, since it has introduced something called default interest, it means it prefers to act like a loan shark rather than a government. They should come to their senses. They should reward those who do their duties on time, who can pay their taxes on time, and who have the means to do so. They shouldn't feel like fools for doing their duties. The state should reward those who have the means to pay their duties, taxes, and debts so that they continue to pay. In other words, while our President says 'we are against interest,' he leaves us facing a reality where the entire sweat of the country has to be given to interest. The nation has turned into slaves carrying installments to banks, almost like slaves carrying stones to Pharaoh's palace."

"Why did we buy these S-400s?"

Making assessments regarding the NATO Summit and the S-400 process, Ağıralioğlu stated that the criticisms the government directed at the opposition in the past have now turned into its own political practice.

Criticizing the government on the S-400 and F-35 issues as well, Ağıralioğlu said, "I said it back then regarding the S-400 issue. I am saying it now, too. They did not give us the Patriot missile batteries they promised. They did not modernize the F-16s, which was their duty because we are allies, and which they promised. On top of that, they created a threat for us. We are a sovereign state, so we bought the S-400s. I thought they had planned it and bought them. I thought this move by the government must have had substance. When we bought them, while there was a great outcry from the opposition asking 'should it be bought or not,' I was saying it could be bought. We have to protect ourselves. I was saying, 'If you don't give them, we will buy them.' I was saying this even though I was in the opposition. Now, we have fallen into the situation of a country that cannot use the S-400s we paid for and cannot receive the F-35s we paid for. Such a fate is about to befall the government. Why did we buy these S-400s? If we were going to return the F-35s we bought, why did we buy them? If we bought them, why are we returning them?" he said.

"Our President knows"

Touching upon the "absolute nullity" decision regarding the CHP congress, Ağıralioğlu stated that they do not find this decision correct and spoke as follows:

"Every move that could mean such interference by the judiciary in politics, which could give the feeling that they are correcting politics through the judiciary, has been condemned in the conscience of the nation. Actually, the President and the AK Party know this too. Let them look at Tayyip Bey's political career, let them look at his life story. He became politically banned through the judiciary. Then, after the Court of Cassation's decision, the Council of State blocked it. Then he founded his party but could not enter Parliament. Then, so that his political ban would be lifted, a vote was held in Parliament, a bill was proposed. Ahmet Necdet Sezer did not accept that law. I mean, if he didn't have the possibility of not accepting it, he wouldn't have accepted that either. Since he had to accept it when it came for the second time, it became law. Then he was able to enter Parliament. We are talking about someone who was able to become the head of the party he founded and then Prime Minister. Our President aspired to the administration and service of the state with this life story. In other words, it is an area where he himself was blocked through politics, but the nation said, 'I do not recognize this obstacle' and brought him to power. Therefore, he knows. Our President knows.

"It would have caused less damage if they had shut it down"

Therefore, I found the absolute nullity decision wrong. I said we found it wrong. I believe that opening the decisions of the Supreme Election Council to debate in this way will greatly weaken our democracy and our law. Tomorrow, it will be the subject of other desires, other objections. Someone accepts it, then ridiculous decisions that will render the AK Party's actions void have to be taken. That's how it happens. It happens to everyone. I mean, if I were asked, this has been more damaging than a closure decision. I mean, would it have caused more damage if they had shut down the CHP? Or is the absolute nullity decision? It would have caused less damage if they had shut it down. I am saying this in terms of law. In terms of violation of law. This is something that will overshadow and cast suspicion on every party, every political will in Turkey. That is why we find this decision wrong, and we have expressed that we find it wrong. We did not find the absolute nullity decision legally correct. We believed that it would cause the democratic state of law to weaken and damage trust in the state and legal institutions, so we objected, sir.

We do not talk about the CHP's own choices, but we say that the decision is wrong. As a matter of procedure, and personally regarding Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu, I am not saying this as a political statement. I think that choosing such a thing in Kemal Bey's political finale caused him very heavy damage. I mean, Kemal Bey received very heavy damage. I wish he hadn't said goodbye to politics like this."

News Source: 12punto