The New Anatolian, Turkey
Jan 31 2007

ANAVATAN targets Interior Minister Aksu with censure

The New Anatolian / Ankara
31 January 2007

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The interior minister will be held accountable for his failures over
the last five years through the censure motion filed by the
Motherland Party (ANAVATAN), said party leader Erkan Mumcu yesterday.

Mumcu, speaking at a party group meeting, reiterated his claim that
the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party doesn’t protect people
who are not close to it, and added that Interior Minister Abdulkadir
Aksu will be called to account for favoritism.

"He will also be held accountable for the lack of protection for a
man, despite a tip-off 11 months before the murder," said Mumcu,
citing recent media reports that a university student detained in
relation to the killing of Armenian origin Turkish journalist Hrant
Dink was actually a police informer and told the police that Dink
would be gunned down almost a year ago.

ANAVATAN officials submitted a censure motion against Aksu after the
address by their leader.

Mumcu also touched on the slogan controversy, which even spread to
football matches and called upon all to put an end to the debate over
the slogan: "We’re all Hrant, we’re all Armenians."

"Can you see the current agitation surrounding the public?" asked the
ANAVATAN leader, adding the mood of "social insanity" will grow worse
due to irresponsible remarks by "two-faced, mindless politicians." He
called other leaders to stop trying to exploit the murder and the
social reaction following the killing.

‘There is no deep state, there is plain govt’

Erkan Mumcu went on to scold politicians, in particular the premier,
for his recent remark that there is a state-within-state in Turkey
and that it should be curbed.

"There is no deep state in Turkey as Erdogan sees it; there is plain
politics, a plain government. Because of your plainness you consider
gangs deep," said the opposition party leader, adding, "There are
only several minor gangs, cliques using the power of the state, and
at the same time used by it for ideological purposes."

He also added that the government is fond of creating straw men in
the dark and calling them the deep state. "The government has no
intention of changing the system but they are using it to assume the
post of president," claimed Mumcu.

The deep state remarks by the premier also opened the government to
criticism from other political parties, who scolded the government
for what they said was its inability to fight gangs using the means
of the state.

Political Islamist Felicity Party (SP) deputy leader Ertan Yulek said
that the premier, as the head of the government of the country, has
no right to complain, but instead should do whatever is needed to
eliminate the source of complaint. However the government is unable
to do so, added the deputy leader.

True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar said the remarks by the
premier showed that the AK Party has no intention of curbing the deep
state. Social Democrat People’s Party (SHP) leader Murat Karayalcin,
emphasizing the word "curb" in the premier’s remark regarding the
deep state, said that a dysfunctional but existing deep state is
enough for the premier but that they cannot accept it.