Future Party leader slams gov't over 'being degenerate,' says Turkey back to 1990s

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Davutoğlu claims all AKP provincial organization heads wanted to resign when he quit his role as PM

Future Party leader and former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has criticized the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) over "being degenerate," as he said that the country is back to the 1990s.

"Turkey has degenerated in politics and shifted from its axis. What brought the AKP to power in 2002 was political degeneration. There is degeneration today as well," Davutoğlu said, adding that all the actors of the "Old Turkey" are trying to use the AKP, referring to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's concept of a "New Turkey" as the beginning of a new era.

"Mr. Erdoğan doesn't say, 'Old Turkey' as he used to. Turkey is back to the 1990s," he also said.

Davutoğlu, who resigned from the AKP last year and founded the opposition Future Party in December, said that it's necessary to stay away from polarization.

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Turning to the issue of the government's policies during the coronavirus pandemic, Davutoğlu said that it made grave mistakes.

"They couldn't foresee the crisis. They didn't adopt measures when the death toll was peaking in Iran and Italy. They tried to continue with sudden and hasty decisions," he said.

Davutoğlu also commented on a recent bill approved in parliament that paved the way for the release of 90,000 convicts and prisoners to ease overcrowding in jails, saying that the bill turned into a "covert amnesty."

"Bribe takers with their eyes on state property, mafia leaders and thieves weer released. It's wrong to pass a bill that concerns certain people. You should release people with chronic diseases, those above certain ages and those tried under arrest during the pandemic. Otherwise, it's opportunism," he said.

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"A covert amnesty was passed via bypassing the constitution. It's against the constitution. You need the votes of 360 deputies for an amnesty," Davutoğlu added.

The Future Party leader also talked about the Pelican group, a group said to be consisting of staunch supporters of Erdoğan who are influential in the pro-government media, saying that everyone was silent when he was attacked by them.

Davutoğlu was referring to a lengthy document known as the "Pelican Brief" that's believed to have been written by a hardcore faction of Erdoğan supporters. The document posted online detailed how Davutoğlu “betrayed” Erdoğan by not pushing enough for “the presidential system” that the latter is passionate about and also by “collaborating with the West and its Trojan horses [inside Turkey] who want to topple the chief.”

Davutoğlu resigned several days later, leaving his post to Binali Yıldırım.

"Everyone was silent when the gang called Pelican attacked me. Now they are in the cabinet," he said, adding that all of them are secret followers of the movement of the U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, which is officially called the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ).