Gov't ally Bahçeli targets CHP MP Tanrıkulu, calls him 'rotten' and 'PKK Spokesperson'

Duvar Englis

Far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli on Sept. 19 targeted main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmaker Sezgin Tanrıkulu over his remarks on the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ally Bahçeli said “The rules of law and democracy should be fully implemented, this rotten person should be stripped of his seat as a member of parliament, and the path to court should be fully opened.”

Speaking after his party’s Central Executive Board (MYK) meeting, Bahçeli argued “A potential terrorist, and moreover, a CHP lawmaker, slandered the Turkish Armed Forces. The mouth of this vile and despicable so-called MP who attacked the Turkish Armed Forces is the mouth of the enemy. The soldier who throws our citizens from helicopters and burns villages is not a Turkish soldier. Such an incident has not occurred.”

“Paying salary from the treasury to a criminal who acts as a spokesperson for the PKK is scandalous, sinful and it is haram for the recipient,” he added.

Tanrıkulu on Sept. 8 stated on a live TV broadcast that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) once “threw 15 villagers out of a helicopter” and the incident was confirmed by the ECHR.

“Isn't this the Turkish Armed Forces that carried out the fascist coup on September 12 (1980)? Isn't this the army that attempted a coup on July 15 (2015), burned villages. (there are) dozens of unsolved murders. There are cases that I follow. Isn't it the TSK that throws 15 villagers out of the helicopter? Confirmed by the decision of the ECHR,” the 60-year-old lawmaker stated.

His remarks drew huge attention as his party criticized the remarks in question, whereas the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on Sept. 9 launched an investigation into him on the alleged charges of “Degrading the Turkish Nation, the State of the Republic of Turkey, the Institutions and Organs of the State” and “inciting the people to hatred and enmity.”

The summary of proceedings against Tanrıkulu to strip the parliamentary immunity of him is awaiting President Erdoğan’s approval to be sent to the Parliament.

HDP’s closure case

Bahçeli also talked about the case awaiting in the Constitutional Court (AYM) regarding the closure of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and said “It is obvious that the Constitutional Court insistently helps the HDP and separatism instead of protecting the sovereign rights of the Republic of Turkey.”

“What does the Constitutional Court expect? What kind of evidence does it want? What is left missing in the case filed by and the indictment prepared by  the Court of Cassation Chief Public Prosecutor's Office that the Constitutional Court has been delaying the legal process for all this time?,” Bahçeli added.

EU-Turkey relations

Bahçeli said Ankara should end the European Union (EU) membership process as well. “Since the European Union does not want us, as (they express excuses to not let us in), then we do not want the EU and that the membership adventure should end as soon as possible. The European Union's dirty, spiteful and historical negotiations process must be closed, whether unilaterally or bilaterally, in order not to be opened. For us, the European Union is over. We were not born with the EU, and we will not die without it.”

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