Yeniden Refah statement: 'The political environment desired by the AKP and MHP is taking shape': They made a reference to the CHP

Suat Kılıç conveyed his condolences for Gendarmerie Specialist Sergeant Samet Karabulut, who was martyred as a result of an accident between a gendarmerie vehicle on patrol duty and a commercial vehicle on the Van-Erciş highway, and wished a speedy recovery to those injured.

Kılıç stated the following:

“The 36th NATO Summit is gathering at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on July 7-8. When considered together with the conjuncture and the wars surrounding Turkey, it is the most critical summit in NATO's history.

Turkey should be a receiver, not a giver, at this summit. We must take delivery of the F-35 fighter jets, for which we are a production partner, have paid for, and have produced thousands of parts. Approval for the modernization project of the F-16 fighter jets, which are the backbone of the current inventory, must be obtained.

The delivery of the Patriot defense systems, which NATO owes to Turkey, must be made. What remains from NATO should not be the traffic misery we endure; Turkey must be freed from threats and sieges that are incompatible with strategic alliance. This summit should not result in NATO establishing a new base in Turkey.”

"What should be discussed is who the opposition's candidate or candidates will be"

Kılıç answered questions from members of the press following his statement. In response to a reporter's question, "Yesterday, AKP Spokesperson Ömer Çelik said, 'The AK Party's candidate in the upcoming elections is Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.' Either a constitutional amendment or it needs to pass through Parliament. How do you evaluate this?" he replied as follows:

"I honestly see that the decisions to be taken and the steps to be taken in the judiciary are under the very close and strict follow-up and supervision of the government. In other words, however the government makes something fit the law and the constitution, the general public accepts it in that way. Therefore, I am not convinced of the benefit of debating Mr. Erdoğan's presidential candidacy. If Mr. Erdoğan wants to be a presidential candidate, he will be. Because years ago, the main opposition party said, 'An early election must be held for him to be a candidate.' Then, constitutional commentators opened this door wide by saying, 'Whether it is a week early or a month early, an early election is an early election.' Today, what needs to be done is not to debate Mr. Erdoğan's presidential candidacy. If he wants to be, he will be a candidate. What should be discussed today is who the opposition's presidential candidate or candidates will be. It is with which name the opposition will challenge Mr. Erdoğan in the presidential election race. The opposition needs to talk about this, but unfortunately, there is a great deal of disarray in the opposition, especially in the main opposition party. When we look at the official chairman of the CHP and what is happening within the CHP, we think that the political environment that the government, Mr. Erdoğan, and also Mr. Devlet Bahçeli desire and want is taking more shape with each passing day."

"If they are uncomfortable with the EP's report, they can get rid of it by ending the membership process"

When asked to evaluate MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli's criticisms regarding the European Parliament's Turkey Report, Kılıç said:

"The European Union's Turkey reports have never been presented to Turkey like a 'basket of Turkish delight.' They have always made very harsh criticisms towards Turkey. I also looked at the headlines and titles of the report. The report is truly a report containing unacceptable expressions. The report is not fair at all. The report is not just, the report is not egalitarian, it is not balanced. First and foremost, the vast majority of the problems mentioned in that report regarding Turkey stem from the European Union's indifference, lack of interest, hypocrisy, and dishonesty towards Turkey's full membership process. If the European Union had admitted Turkey while admitting many Eastern Bloc countries as a response to what Turkey has done regarding the Maastricht criteria and the Copenhagen criteria, most of the issues mentioned in this report today would not even be on our agenda. Europe is hypocritical, Europe is dishonest, Europe's approach to Turkey's full membership process is a completely fraudulent approach, it is not reliable, it is not trustworthy, it is a worrying approach. Why do they keep Turkey in this process? Because Turkey is an outpost for them. An outpost against migration waves, an outpost against drug trafficking, an outpost on terrorism. They do not want to lose Turkey. They do not want to include Turkey either. I mentioned the passport and visa issue a moment ago. Turkey is a full membership candidate, and the roots of our candidacy go back to the 1950s. It is not an acceptable situation for Turkey, which has a 70-year candidacy process, to be strained even on the issue of visas.

"We have alternatives"

If the European Union says one thing to us, we have justified situations to say a thousand things to them. But there are also some very justified criticisms, such as not complying with court rulings and the Turkish judiciary not adhering to the Constitutional Court's rights violation rulings. We cannot ignore this either. Mr. Bahçeli is a partner in the government. If they are uncomfortable with the European Union's reports, they can get rid of being the addressee of these European Union reports by truly ending the membership process. Is this our suggestion? It is not. What is our suggestion? Since we are in the membership process, fulfill the requirements. First and foremost, carry out a move that will save and protect our citizens' right to free movement. In other words, let there be either an honorable relationship, an honorable union in European Union-Turkey relations, or let us let them go their way and we go ours. We have alternatives. First and foremost, for us, there is the D-8. There is the D-60. There are the D-160s. The European Union is not indispensable for us. But since it is indispensable for today's government, then it is essential that they fulfill certain things."

News Source: 12punto