Yeniden Refah Party Chairman Erbakan's reaction to Bahçeli's deputy proposal: 'Are we going to concern ourselves with ethnic identity?'

Yeniden Refah Party Chairman Fatih Erbakan visited Chairman Ahmet Davutoğlu at the Future Party headquarters.

Making statements after the visit, Fatih Erbakan evaluated MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli's controversial remarks: 'Let the President have two deputies; one should be Alevi, one should be Kurdish.'

Erbakan reacted to Bahçeli, stating: 'We believe this will lead to a major ethnic division and we find these remarks extremely problematic. Are we going to set aside merit, education, competence, and love for the nation and country, and concern ourselves with a person's sect or ethnic identity? Will the President or Vice President be determined based on this?'

Speaking at the joint press conference held after the meeting, Fatih Erbakan stated the following:

'In this meeting, naturally, Turkey's agenda, especially the political agenda, was discussed. The AK Party has been in power alone in Turkey for the last 23 years. As the Chairman also expressed, they are doing everything they can to not relinquish or lose their power. They want to design politics by operating the judiciary with double standards. However, there is no politics without rivals. Today, Mr. Erdoğan came to power by voicing what we are saying now. He came to power by making the same criticisms we are making today before he was in power. However, unfortunately, all these issues have deepened much further in our country today.'

'ARE WE GOING TO SET ASIDE MERIT, EDUCATION, AND LOVE FOR THE NATION AND CONCERN OURSELVES WITH A PERSON'S SECT OR ETHNIC IDENTITY?'

Addressing MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli's remarks, 'Let the President have two deputies; one should be Alevi, one should be Kurdish,' Erbakan continued his speech as follows:

'Another important issue we want to touch upon is that we were suddenly confronted with Mr. Devlet Bahçeli's words without knowing exactly what the 'Turkey without terrorism' process is, what is meant, and what is targeted: 'Sir, let the President have two deputies; one should be Alevi, one should be Kurdish.' As we mentioned in our meeting earlier, we believe these statements will lead to a major ethnic division and we find them extremely problematic. Are we going to set aside merit, education, competence, and love for the nation and country, and concern ourselves with a person's sect or ethnic identity? Will the President or Vice President be determined based on this? If so, then the President should be Turkish, and the deputies should be Kurdish and Alevi! That is the step that will follow. If that is the case, why shouldn't a Kurdish citizen be President? Why shouldn't an Alevi citizen be President? We evaluate this approach as a racist and sectarian mindset and find it extremely harmful.'

Criticizing President Erdoğan for not responding to Bahçeli's statements, Erbakan said the following:

"We say 'from where to where' when we talk about 'one nation, one state, one flag, one country.' At this point, I would like to state that we find the silence of the President, who repeats this motto the most, in the face of Mr. Bahçeli's words to be strange. Because the President was one of those who emphasized 'one nation' most frequently. But when Mr. Bahçeli uses such an expression, he refrains from saying, 'Have we not become one nation? What is this?' and chooses silence. We have been one nation in these lands for centuries, and we have no intention of abandoning this principle. We see that the scabs of wounds that have been tried to be reopened in the last century are being picked at again, and we find this extremely dangerous."

"WE FIND THIS DANGEROUS"

We believe that we must continue on our path with the principle of one nation. We want to express that an approach such as 'Sir, a Kurd cannot be President, an Alevi cannot be this, a Sunni can be that' is extremely dangerous for Turkey. A Kurdish citizen in Turkey became President in the past. In the last elections, an Alevi citizen became a presidential candidate and made it to the second round. If he had won, he would have been President. Therefore, we really cannot understand what is intended or what the goal is. Even if it appears as if a right is being granted, rights are actually being taken back. This approach is aimed at dividing our nation, and we find it dangerous."

"IT WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE APPROPRIATE IF IT HAD BEEN DONE FOR ALL PARTIES"

Answering the question, 'Has a meeting request come to the Yeniden Refah Party regarding the "terror-free Turkey" process, which is being conducted in contact with political parties that have groups in Parliament?', Erbakan stated the following:

"No appointment request has been made so far. Yet, we had stated from the beginning that we should be informed by the state, not just by the DEM Party, and that this was important for the healthy functioning of the process. Of course, the meeting of the MIT head with the parties that have groups in Parliament is a positive development. However, it would have been more appropriate and fitting if this had been done for all parties represented in Parliament, without making a distinction between those with groups and those without."

News Source: 12punto