TURKISH OPPOSITION PARTIES UNHAPPY WITH OBAMA REMARKS
264_4/8/2009_1
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
ANKARA–Turkey’s opposition party leaders are unhappy with US President
Barack Obama over remarks he made in separate talks with them during
his visit to Turkey on Monday, reported the Turkish newspaper,
Today’s Zaman.
Obama held brief talks with leaders from Turkey’s three opposition
parties, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the Nationalist Movement
Party (MHP), and the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP). He
met with CHP chairman, Deniz Baykal, MHP Chairman Devlet Bahceli, and
DTP Chairman Ahmet Turk The meetings with Obama, according to them,
fell short of expectations, Today’s Zaman reported.
Speaking to DPT leader Turk, Obama’s advised the pro-Kurdish party to
refrain from violence or armed struggle, as it would not solve the
Kurdish problem. Turk, for his part, briefed Obama on the unsolved
murders against Kurds in the southeastern parts of Turkey.
According to Today’s Zaman, Turk also gave Obama documents outlining
his party’s position on the Kurdish issue in Turkey. Obama, for his
part, stressed that the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is
a terrorist organization and that violence could not be a means to
solve problems.
Akin Birdal, a DTP deputy, said his party agreed that problems
would not be solved with violence. "We expressed our fear that the
inability to solve the Kurdish problem would bring with it more
serious problems. We have once more made the point that we are for
solutions that use democratic and civilian means," he said.
MHP Chairman Bahceli, for his part, is concerned that Obama’s visit
to Turkey may further deepen disappointment in Azerbaijan, which was
already uneasy about the invitation of Armenian Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian to the second Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations
(UNAOC) in Istanbul.
MHP Ankara deputy Deniz Bolukbasi described Obama’s speech in the
Turkish parliament a "disappointment," saying, "Obama’s views of the
Armenian genocide have not changed and his desire for the [Greek]
Halki Seminary to be reopened and his strong relations with the
Kurdish administration in Iraq are worrisome."
The staunchly secular CHP, the country’s main opposition party, is
uneasy about Obama’s positive sentiments for Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan but is pleased to have seized the opportunity
to engage in talks with the US president.
CHP leader Baykal noted his party’s sensitivity to such issues as
secularism, freedom of the press and freedom of the judiciary. Obama,
in response, asked Baykal why he doesn’t travel to the US. "My friends
often fly to the US, but the last time I traveled to the US was in
1987," Baykal said.
CHP Deputy Chairman Onur Oymen said Obama’s speech in Parliament
was not beyond expectations. "It’s important that he dwelled on
democracy, secularism and close cooperation between Turkey and the
US," Oymen said. "His remarks, however, on the cooperation between
the two countries in Afghanistan brings up the problem that the US
has high hopes for Turkey."
He noted, however, that the CHP is pleased to see that Obama is likely
to pursue a different policy from that of the Bush administration.
For Ahmet Tan, a deputy from the Democratic Left Party (DSP),
Obama’s visit brought renewal to the strained US-Turkish relations,
signaling that his administration is looking to cooperate with Turkey
in implementing its policies in the Middle East.
n a positive light. "Obama imposed new responsibilities on the
government and won back the hearts of opposition parties, In an
approach different from the Bush administration, Obama is trying to
implement its policies in the Middle East with the support of Turkey,"
he added.