Trustees appointed to 4 municipalities in 5 days: ‘They want to make Erdoğan a candidate again’

Following the CHP-run Esenyurt Municipality, the appointment of trustees to the DEM Party-run Mardin Metropolitan Municipality, Batman Municipality, and Halfeti Municipality has sparked debate over the government's trustee moves, while MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli reiterated his 'right to hope' call, which would offer PKK leader Öcalan the opportunity to speak at the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) podium. Political Scientist Assoc. Prof. Dr. Onur Alp Yılmaz evaluated these events for 12 Punto during a period when the opposition frequently mentions early elections, and explained the goals of the government and opposition fronts point by point.

“BAHÇELİ IS TRYING TO CREATE A PERCEPTION”

Stating that MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli's moves are intended to ensure President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is re-elected as president, Yılmaz began his remarks by saying, “What Devlet Bahçeli has been saying for a while is very clear: ‘While the international system is currently gridlocked, we need Mr. Erdoğan to be elected once more because, since the international system has collapsed, international institutions no longer have importance or sanctions. We all observed this very clearly in the Israel issue, and therefore, for such an order, we need the ability to conduct bilateral relations and experienced leaders, and Mr. Erdoğan is exactly such a leader. That is why we need him to be elected for one more term.’ He is trying to create a perception along these lines.”

“THEY ARE CREATING A GROUND BASED ON ISLAMIC BROTHERHOOD”

Expressing that the appointed trustees are an extension of the government's perspective to heighten security concerns, Yılmaz said, “Here, they are saying the following to the PKK, the DEM Party, and Öcalan: ‘If you are truly structures or actors that care about the interests of the Kurds and have genuinely carried out this years-long struggle for them, then here is your opportunity. Prove this to us, because today it is not just the Turks and the Republic of Turkey that are under risk; the entire Anatolia and the entire Islamic geography, including all Kurds, are under threat through the Israeli threat. As the grandchildren of Saladin, and as the grandchildren of the Turks who formed an alliance with Saladin, we must form a similar alliance again and stand together against this Israeli aggression.’ It is possible to state that they are trying to create a common ground based on Islamic brotherhood like this.”

“THEY WANT TO MAKE ERDOĞAN A CANDIDATE AGAIN”

Explaining the People's Alliance's (Cumhur İttifakı) plan, Yılmaz stated, “The goal is to create a ground for Mr. Erdoğan to be a candidate again through the armor of politics that is being securitized with the threat of Israel. That is why Bahçeli is actually saying this: ‘DEM Party, if you approach the CHP and put a perspective like democratization before us, then the trustees will increase at this point. The trustees will continue. But as the DEM Party, if you come to a point where you do not disobey Öcalan's word, if you accept Öcalan's word and agree to be actors who follow Öcalan, then these trustee policies are temporary; these trustee policies will end.’ In other words, while telling them to listen to a person who has rebelled against the Turkish state, taken up arms, and challenged the law and order for this, he is also telling the Kurds not to listen to their legitimate political representatives, but to a person who has rebelled against this state and cost 40 thousand lives,” noting that Turkey's nationalist political party is concerned with protecting its power.

“TO PREVENT THE CHP FROM COMING TO POWER…”

Addressing the place of the Kurdish issue in Turkish history, Yılmaz said, “The Kurdish issue has always been a tool for political actors in Turkey in their attempts to reposition the political actors they face. For example, in the 1990s, because Bülent Ecevit could not explain his departure from the CHP to the voters, he adopted a discourse of recognizing the Kurdish issue and used it as an armor for himself. Similarly, we saw that Mr. Erdoğan used this issue as an armor for himself. This issue has always been a tool used by actors in Turkey to shape their rivals and their own alliances while redesigning politics. What Mr. Devlet Bahçeli is doing today is not very different. As you have noticed, there is a series of alliances here; the formula they found to not lose their power or to prevent the CHP from coming to power emerges as forcing everyone to reposition themselves through Kurdish politics. Politics conducted with people like Mr. İmamoğlu, who can find resonance both in the nationalist community and specifically among Kurdish voters, finds resonance in both the Turkish nationalist voter and the Kurdish voter. Therefore, it is possible to state that this is a move aimed at dismantling the other side.”

“THEY CONSIDER OPPOSING THEIR POLICIES AS TREASON”

Summarizing the resulting picture, Yılmaz concluded his remarks as follows:

“We can state that in the alliance table in Mr. Bahçeli's mind, there is Mr. Erdoğan, Mr. Bahçeli, Öcalan, and the DEM Party if it does not disobey Öcalan's word. On the other side is the opposition to this. In other words, what is constructed for us with the armor of 'state wisdom' is nothing more than a concern to protect their power. The reason this is constructed as 'state wisdom' is this: the moment you object to this, you are not challenging the inconsistencies of a political party's rhetoric or policy made out of a concern to stay in power, but you are challenging the state. Therefore, they try to construct opposition to their own policies through the lens of opposing the state, and try to equate opposing these policies with treason. In other words, the party that claims to be Turkey's nationalist party is coming to a point where it will accuse people who oppose the policy of engaging with a terrorist organization leader in Turkey of treason.”

News Source: Beste Çelik

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