Support for Hezbollah from AKP figure: 'They are not at war with the state'

Participating in the Tartışma Zemini program on Ekol TV, former AKP MP Mehmet Metiner spoke with praise about the Hezbollah terrorist organization—known for its "hog-tie" (domuz bağı) torture method and for having clashed with and assassinated state officials and institutions many times in the past, most notably in the Gaffar Okkan assassination and the armed conflict with the Istanbul Police Department.

Metiner argued that just as MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli has made a call regarding PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, despite the PKK being at war with the state, Hezbollah should also be given an opportunity.

HE PRAISED THE 'HOG-TIE' HEZBOLLAH

Former AKP MP Mehmet Metiner used the following expressions during the live broadcast:

"If HÜDAPAR had been based on an armed terrorist organization, I would have said it should be closed down immediately. I know the organization called Hezbollah better than anyone. The leader who was killed was my friend, my acquaintance. I know all of them up to the entire leadership cadre. I do not defend their actions or their logic in any way. In my opinion, violence, terror, and weapons are not the solution to anything. So what is Hezbollah? In that period when the PKK was trying to establish dominance in the region, saying 'Either you obey us or you leave the region,' Hezbollah said, 'I am here, I am not leaving, whatever the cost.' They were wrong to do this. They did things to other Muslim communities as well. They did things to me personally. Despite this, I do not abandon the truth. They have never been at war with the state. Their method is wrong."

"WHY SHOULD WE DENY HEZBOLLAH THE CHANCE WE PROVIDE TO THE PKK?"

In response to a question from Bizim TV Editor-in-Chief Şaban Sevinç, asking, 'Was the killing of Gaffar Okkan not an act of declaring war on the state?', Metiner stated:

"Suppose there is a group that had Gaffar Okkan killed. Suppose they did have him killed. Other than the Gaffar Okkan incident, Hezbollah has never been at war with the state. Let's say it happened in the past. What are we saying to the PKK today? What did Bahçeli say? So why should we deny Hezbollah the chance we provide to the PKK? Today, Hezbollah is not at war with the state, but the PKK is. Therefore, HÜDAPAR is not Hezbollah's party. Even if it were, it is not an organization that is at war with the state. There is no such organization. You are cooperating with the organization of a party that is at war with the state. But when it comes to HÜDAPAR, you argue that it should not be in parliament."

THE ORGANIZATION'S LEADER WAS KILLED IN A VILLA RAID

The conflict that took place on January 17, 2000, hit Turkey's agenda like a bombshell. On January 17, 2000, the head of the organization, Hüseyin Velioğlu, was killed in a villa where a violent clash occurred between the Hezbollah terrorist organization and the Istanbul Police Department.

News Source : 12punto