CHP reacts to Sinan Ateş indictment! 'Are we going to put the license plate on trial?'

CHP Group Deputy Chairman Gökhan Günaydın made evaluations regarding the agenda and answered questions at a press conference held in Parliament.

Reminding of the statements made by Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (TCMB) Governor Fatih Karahan, Günaydın noted that the year-end inflation forecast was raised from 36 percent to 38 percent.

Stating that TÜİK (Turkish Statistical Institute) defined the total four-month inflation at the beginning of May as 18.7 percent, Günaydın pointed out that economists project six-month inflation at 25 percent.

Günaydın stated that Central Bank Governor Karahan said they project food inflation, which is at the 70 percent level, to be 35.5 percent by the end of the year, and continued as follows:

"I invite the Central Bank Governor to go to the market, shop at the greengrocer, and buy red and white meat from the butcher. Citizens who used to buy white meat or chicken because they could not afford red meat have recently reached a point where they can no longer consume white meat either due to price increases in chicken. I ask the Central Bank Governor: what measures have the Central Bank or the government taken to reduce food inflation from 70 percent to 35 percent that they project it will fall by half? The Central Bank Governor says, 'There is a slowdown in housing prices, and we anticipate that this slowdown will lead to a relaxation in rental prices.' I invite the Central Bank Governor to rent properties in some neighborhoods in Istanbul, Izmir, and Ankara through his officials, learn the data on this, and share it with the public. Let alone buying a house, citizens can no longer pay their rent."

Explaining that Central Bank Governor Karahan said "a determined stance in monetary policies will pull inflation down," Günaydın emphasized that what is referred to as a "determined stance in monetary policies" is keeping interest rates at the 50 percent level.

Claiming that the government lacks a fiscal policy to support monetary policy, Gökhan Günaydın said that increasing interest rates on credit cards and narrowing installment amounts have also eliminated the ability of citizens to meet their basic needs through credit cards.

CHP's Günaydın stated, "The Central Bank Governor says, 'Real appreciation in the Turkish lira will create an effect of improvement in inflation expectations and a reduction in the main trend of monthly inflation.' I think there cannot be a more tragicomic sentence than the words and phrasing 'real appreciation in the Turkish lira.' Among all currencies in the world, the Turkish Lira, along with the Argentine peso, holds the record for being devalued and losing value."

"EVEN TÜİK EMPLOYEES DO NOT BELIEVE TÜİK'S FIGURES"

Stating that citizens are trying to survive on kitchen expenses, Günaydın said that TÜİK is also among the most untrustworthy institutions.

Saying, "Even TÜİK employees do not believe TÜİK's inflation figures," Günaydın added, "I invite the head of TÜİK, along with the Central Bank Governor, to hold hands, go to the market, and see the prices."

Stating that the contraction in the market will suppress Turkey's growth and increase unemployment figures, Günaydın pointed out that while 130 dollars could be bought with a 200-lira banknote on January 1, 2009, only 6.1 dollars can be bought now, and that this is a bitter reality.

REACTION TO SİNAN ATEŞ INDICTMENT: ARE WE GOING TO PUT THE LICENSE PLATE ON TRIAL?

Upon a question regarding the indictment prepared for the murder of former Ülkü Ocakları President and Hacettepe University faculty member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sinan Ateş, Günaydın said that the indictment is in a state that cannot be accepted.

Stating that the license plate of the vehicle that smuggled the murder suspect from Ankara to Istanbul and information about who the plate belongs to are not included in the indictment, Günaydın asked the questions, "Are we going to put the license plate on trial? Who is the owner of the plate?" and noted the following:

"If I cannot find the answer to these questions in the indictment, how can I guarantee that the answer can be found during the trial? I ask the high criminal court panel that accepted the indictment: did it never occur to you to return the indictment to the prosecutor who did not write who the owner of this plate is, by saying 'the ownership status of the plate should be investigated, whoever the owner is should be written in the indictment, we cannot proceed to prosecution unless this is done'?"

"DESCRIBING THE MINDSET OF THE AKP..."

Upon the mention that the Ministry of National Education announced the new curriculum, Günaydın said, "We are facing an imposition of an education model that is completely detached from science, a secular order, and quality education, filled with extremely irrelevant information, and which describes the mindset of the AKP by calling it the 'Turkey Century Education Model.' This is not an acceptable situation."

Gökhan Günaydın added that they will hold a rally for teachers waiting for appointments at Istanbul Saraçhane Square on May 18.

News Source: AA