Abdulkadir Selvi's call to the government regarding 'retired generals': 'It is not about them dying in prison...'

Arguing that the “climate of normalization” expected to emerge in politics from the meeting between President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and CHP Chairman Özgür Özel must be sustained, he said, “It is not possible to conduct new politics without Özgür Özel. Therefore, he must be able to say to his own base, ‘I met with Erdoğan, but I achieved positive results.’”

Selvi pointed to the February 28 prisoners, a topic Özel also brought up during the meeting.

Selvi noted the following:

"IT WOULD RELIEVE TURKEY"

“I opposed February 28. I stood by the victims of February 28. Lawsuits were filed against me because I criticized the February 28 generals. As a journalist who opposes coups, I lived to see September 12 and February 28 put on trial. But democracy is not a regime of revenge. Having 80-year-old retired generals, all of whom have various illnesses, die in prison does not relieve Turkey. On the contrary, it increases polarization. But pardoning them would relieve Turkey.

The forensic medical reports regarding the February 28 convicts have been completed. Their files have been waiting ready at the Presidential Complex since May 2023. With a single signature from President Erdoğan, the first step of the normalization policy in Turkey will have been taken.”

"WE CAN BE A TURKEY THAT IS APPLAUDED"

Selvi, who has been the target of criticism from the People's Alliance wing since his article suggesting that a retrial could be held in the Gezi Park case, also noted the following:

“There is also the Kavala file. I am talking about the Gezi convicts. It has now reached a point that poisons relations between Turkey and the Council of Europe. Unimplemented ECHR rulings and the preparation of sanctions against Turkey by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers... We will provide a defense again in July. This picture damages Turkey's image abroad. By initiating a retrial process, we can be a Turkey that surprises rather than one that provides a defense. We can be a Turkey that is applauded, rather than one under the threat of sanctions at the Council of Europe. If Turkey were to be subjected to Council of Europe sanctions, who would it benefit? As Özgür Özel said in his meeting with Devlet Bahçeli, ‘We must solve this issue before Europe demands it.’ The issue is not the Osman Kavala issue; it is the Turkey issue.”

News Source: 12punto