Former Tourism Minister Bahattin Yücel recalls the 'sea bass in a plaid skirt' headline: 'Turkey's agenda cannot be managed with jackets and the like. An early election is essential'

Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Özgür Özel's jacket left its mark on the past week. His decision to wear the 'Winner' jacket, which is identified with the AKP government, President Erdoğan, and high-level AKP officials, led many to criticize Özel.

Speaking to 12punto, former Tourism Minister Bahattin Yücel stated that the choice of jacket was likely a joke and recalled the "Sea bass in a plaid skirt" headline from the past, which left its mark on Turkish political history.

Yücel also made striking statements regarding the current agenda. While stating that Turkey's priority problem is the economy and poverty, he conveyed that the increasing immigrant population in Turkey is developing in connection with a global plan.

In the interview between Republican People's Party Chairman Özgür Özel and journalist Fatih Altaylı, Mr. Özgür had interesting statements, but in recent days, it was primarily the jacket he wore that came to the agenda. What do you think?

He must have worn it as a joke; that's how he explained it in his interview with Fatih Altaylı. During the March 12 period, before the '73 elections, you know, politics was developing somewhat under military control. Günaydın newspaper was just starting out then, using offset printing. The understanding of journalism was much different. It was arranged more with visuals on the front page. At that time, they had run a headline about the late İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil.

He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs between 1965-1971 and 1975-1977. A dinner had been given for foreign diplomats. A photograph of a large sea bass among the dishes was published. Mayonnaise had been put on the sea bass on the plate, and red lines had been drawn. It was in a full plaid pattern, and then Günaydın ran a headline, 'sea bass in a plaid skirt.' The late İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil responded to this for years.

It was one of the headlines that left its mark on Turkish political history, as far as I remember. Even years later, its story found a place in the media. What was the purpose of the headline?

It was heavily criticized. Günaydın criticized the late İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil. The purpose of the headline was this: While people were suffering, they were living in abundance. It was drawing attention to the prosperity of politics and state officials. 'Sea bass in a plaid skirt' entered the political lexicon of those days.

It is a truly striking headline. I understand it this way. While Turkish society was going through a troubled period in general terms at that time, İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil was hosting an invitation and entertaining diplomats with a beautiful table and serving sea bass. And the media was drawing attention to the situation the public was in with a historic headline.

It was described as if he were doing some kind of fantasy with that sea bass in a plaid skirt, but I don't know if you remember, but people didn't show off in those days. Photos of tables weren't published. The economy was different because. During Demirel's prime ministry, there was a significant inflow of resources from abroad, but Turkey could not utilize it well. Other countries surpassed us. Countries like Korea surpassed us. That headline was also a criticism of the fact that while İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil was swimming in abundance, people were living in more modest conditions.

It gave me that association. Right now, Turkey's agenda really cannot be managed with such jackets, plaid skirts, or sea bass. There are very serious problems. There are problems in the economy, in terms of social peace, in poverty, in urban poverty, and the situation of retirees. While all of these are standing there, it seems thought-provoking to me even to make jokes about them.

How do you evaluate Özgür Özel's statements regarding establishing contact with Syria and his statements based on softening?

It is realistic. Devlet Bey said the same thing first. Then Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said it. That is, establishing relations with Syria. Then the President said, 'We were already meeting with Mr. Assad as a family.' I think Turkey needs to read the changes in the region well. I see that Turkey will not benefit but will suffer from the fragmentation of Syria.

How do you evaluate CHP leader Özgür Özel's performance as chairman in general terms? Some commentators think he is warming up to the chairman's seat and his performance is increasing.

He is gaining control of the situation, of course. That's how it looks now. Mr. Kemal had a 13-year chairmanship. Mr. Kemal comes from a different school of thought. Before him, there was Deniz Bey. After Deniz Bey, Mr. Kemal also struggled a bit until he adapted to that issue. But after that, because he had control over the party and especially the congress delegates, he knows the provincial and district administrations. That's why he embraced his party. Now there is a restlessness there. There is also a difference. He looks more dynamic. He wants to be everywhere and naturally wants to come to the fore on every issue. While doing those things, as far as I have seen so far, he hasn't made many mistakes. This jacket business cannot be counted as a mistake. It's a joke, but of course, I don't know what kind of effect that joke will have on the voters or the Republican People's Party members given the situation Turkey is in.

Özel was asked, "There are some rumors within this party. Some things are being talked about. How do you have the patience?" He expresses this himself. He responded to those who asked the question by saying, "The CHP Chairmanship has a tradition coming from İsmet Pasha. They turn a deaf ear to some things." Do you agree with this?

Turning a deaf ear is a method that politicians resort to a lot. It is true in that regard, but what is really important here is if there are factions and polarizations in the Republican People's Party as understood, which the CHP is actually a party where factions compete.

What I see there is that the Republican People's Party needs to come up with a paradigm that it will present to the entire society, especially one that will justify its 38 percent vote. We don't see this paradigm. It needs to say what it will do in the economy, especially in agriculture, what it will do in industrial production, what it will do in service production, what it thinks in terms of the restructuring of the public sector, and by seeing that Turkey is too large and troubled a country to be managed by decisions made by a single person from Ankara, how the transfers of authority will take place, and we must also impose a new administrative management on Turkey.

Now there are 5 million 100 thousand civil servants. There is a debate about whether this is an average below or above the OECD. It is not. The public sector in Turkey cannot produce services. This is the case in every field. That is, it is the case in every field where the public sector is dominant. More importantly, the Republican People's Party needs to impose a system that can collect taxes from the real earners, away from this indirect tax. I think the way to do this clearly goes through recording the economy.

At the simplest level, the Republican People's Party should come out and say, 'I will pay the full wages of all wage earners, retirees, everyone. Let them make their expenditures, deduct the vital ones, and they themselves deposit the remaining taxes'...

This is not a difficult thing. I am saying it in the politest terms. This would then prevent the public sector from directly disposing of their taxes. Because currently, the entirety of politics in Turkey is based on seizing the management of public resources and disposing of them as it wishes. This cannot be. This is over now. This is over in the world, and it is over for us too. I am expecting that from the CHP. Let them say that wages will be paid in full so that the economy can be recorded. But they are not doing this. This is missing, for example.

There is a prevailing perspective that if the CHP evaluates the process well following its success in the local elections, it can also achieve success in the general elections. Do you agree with this?

No, I don't agree. Because conditions change so quickly that Demirel had a saying, I am not a Demirelist politically, but there was a saying of Demirel that I liked very much, he would say, 'Even 24 hours is a very long time in politics.' We have experienced examples of this. With Özal's sudden death in '93, all political balances in Turkey changed. No one expected it either.

What do you say about the possibility of an early election, then?

An early election is essential, in the words of the old-timers. That is, it is necessary. I think the Republican People's Party is waiting, saying, 'Let conditions form a little more, let them be unsuccessful in the economy, and then I will come.' There is no such thing in politics.

You will make decisions by calculating the day and a few moves ahead, and you will be prepared accordingly. Of course, it's not about constantly fighting and so on. In the end, there is a political movement that emerged as the first party in Turkey and has been managing Turkey for 22 years. Its symbol is Tayyip Erdoğan. No one can deny this. But stating his mistakes and putting forward alternatives to him is also the inevitable duty of the opposition.

After these elections, there were mutual meetings. Visits, holiday greetings, etc. Even this holiday, Özgür Özel told that he called Devlet Bahçeli and they joked around. Could the government be following a strategy to eliminate the possibility of an early election?

It could be, it might look like that, but these are always done. In the past, in a political environment that was very harsh, especially during holidays, administrators, politicians, and leaders would come together and talk. That is, we would have a fight in the general assembly, but we would sit in the lobby and drink tea and coffee together.

Currently, Turkey's number one agenda is indisputably impoverishment, people drowning in an economic crisis... What do you think?

This issue is Turkey's urgent agenda. It has no agenda other than that. It is the duty of the opposition to fix Turkey's economy, to hold accountable for the injustice in income distribution and the capital transfer carried out through very bad methods, and to go after unfair gains. If it doesn't do this, it cannot be the opposition.

The refugee problem is increasing. The reaction in society is also increasing. Would you like to say something about the solution to the issue on a humanitarian dimension?

Syria is our longest border. We have a border of around 900 kilometers. It is a fact that the mines there were brought to the agenda of the world public opinion through some media abroad with the claim that they were inhumane, and that the mines were removed.

We were told there, 'The lands here will never be touched, organic farming will be done'... In the end, we understood that the organic farming there was about harvesting about 8-9 million refugees from Syria. That is, that is the result of the agriculture. This is not an acceptable thing. A country's army and security forces protect its borders. They have to protect them. Now we couldn't do this. I think this is a long-term demographic, new restructuring plan that was planned entirely outside of us. That is, developments such as the establishment of ISIS in the region controlled by those Sunni Arabs there, the establishment of a Kurdish region, and the support of their initiatives, especially through referendums, are developments that Turkey will not accept very easily, but perhaps developments that the government has turned a blind eye to, knowingly or unknowingly. Especially the issue of Syrian refugees. This is a very serious thing for Turkey. Today is June 30, look. It is the anniversary of Hatay's joining the Republic of Turkey. Actually, that place is Antakya, not Hatay. In Atatürk's words, because he likened its geographical location to a foot, he called it Hat-ay. Now we are experiencing its anniversary today. In such a period, we have to review the settlement in Hatay and Kilis very seriously. That is also important for Turkey's future. Moreover, there is this: we have taken them voluntarily in exchange for some aid and support. Explaining these and asking what they are is the inevitable duty of the opposition. The opposition is not doing this. But more importantly, as a country, look, we do not know who these people coming are, neither in terms of security, nor intelligence, nor judiciary, nor law enforcement, nor sociologically, and we are not prepared for this. Now who will guarantee that these will not turn into an organized crime organization in the future?

Well, if we approach it realistically, if we need to approach it, can such a dense refugee population be sent back to their countries? Is this possible?

It can be within a certain plan. However, I am saying it in quotation marks. I don't think it will be solved with radical approaches that could be characterized as 'racist' by others, or with approaches like 'I'll just cut it off immediately.' But it is possible to classify and plan their length of stay in Turkey, their housing, and the support they receive from the public in Turkey. After that, if an agreement can be reached in Syria, which I think the Assad regime will generally want the territorial integrity of Syria to be preserved. That is what is inevitable. Then it is necessary to cooperate regarding their organization for going there. Even more importantly, we also need to talk about these issues with Russia and America.

Turkey's visa problem is growing. While all European countries and more enter the lands of the Republic of Turkey comfortably with their identities, our conditions that are getting harder every day are being revealed. Will we be able to solve this problem with diplomacy?

I think we can solve it. Because they clearly and explicitly underline the ISIS sources among those who come to us in Turkey as refugees and whom they characterize as terrorists. They also underline the Taliban. It is said that the citizens of the Republic of Turkey earn and take visas to go to the west with those passports, and those who get visas and go also make asylum requests. Now if we cannot manage such a process, they will also use the opportunity they have. But this is a very shameful thing for a country's administration.

Don't European countries have a clear hypocrisy here?

I mean, they see us as a defense line. And they start Europe's asylum line after us. That's why they gave us a kind of guardianship duty over these refugees. This cannot be. It doesn't suit Turkey, but if you give citizenship in exchange for 250 thousand dollars, you become a country that gifts citizenship by profiting from people. This cannot be, it should not be. It is not that much.

News Source: Mustafa Büyüksipahi

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Couldn't you find another jacket to wear, Mr. Özgür?