Tuesdays are "Bashing Day" for the leaders of the political parties in the Turkish parliament. Every Tuesday at their party gatherings, they go on the attack, fiercely accusing one or the other of working against the best interests of Turkey, selling it off to foreign interests or paving the way for an independent Kurdistan. The regularly scheduled speeches by party leaders can sometimes border on hate speech. One should therefore not be deluded into thinking — or even hoping — that any of these leaders can speak the language of helping or healing needed to promote the resolution of issues by consensus. The parliamentary party meetings on Tuesday, Feb. 19, are prime examples.
Speaking at the gathering of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the country’s opposition of “chasing evil thoughts” and failing to support “inclusive” policies. The “evil” that Erdogan senses in the opposition resides in their understanding of "nationalism," which according to him, is no different from "racism." His outburst was triggered by an event that took place on Feb 18 in Sinop, on the Black Sea.
Sirri Sureyya Onder, Levent Tuzel, Sebahat Tuncel and Ertugrul Kurkce —members of the Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) — had been on a tour of the Black Sea coast, a part of the country known for its diehard nationalist population. The lawmakers went there to talk about the government’s Kurdish peace initiative and rally support for helping facilitate the Kurdish population agreeing on a negotiated settlement of the Kurdish issue. In Sinop, some 200 angry protesters gathered in front of the building where the BDP representatives were just starting their program. The lawmakers feared for their lives.
Speaking about the incident, Erdogan observed, “Groups from CHP [Republican People’s Party] and MHP [Nationalist Movement Party] are engaging in provocation. Like it or not, these people are elected representatives. As long as their meetings stay within the norms of the rule of law, you have to respect them.” He added, “But MHP has a certain mentality. They do racism and serve an evil understanding [of nationalism.] By preventing that meeting [in Sinop] from proceeding, they’re bringing unrest to the country.” Erdogan let it be known that he is against all nationalisms, Turkish and otherwise.
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