PM THANKS BAYKAL BUT ASKS HIM NOT TO GIVE MESSAGES THROUGH MEDIA

Hurriyet Daily News
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

ANKARA – Daily News Parliament Bureau

Prime Minister Erdogan responds to CHP leader Deniz Baykal’s letter. AA
photo

Prime Minister Erdogan responds to CHP leader Deniz Baykal’s letter. AA
photo

Correspondence between leaders of the ruling party and the main
opposition is likely to produce a key meeting next week regarding
the ongoing efforts to solve the Kurdish question and end terrorism.

The prime minister also made a statement about Republican People’s
Party, or CHP, leader Deniz Baykal’s letter inviting him to a
face-to-face meeting on the condition that it be aired on television.

"To me it’s a positive step. We’ll elaborate (the invitation for a
meeting)," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday at his
party’s parliamentary group meeting. Addressing Baykal’s six-page
letter, the prime minister said: "I am currently not in the position
to evaluate the content of this letter. We’ll do it when we meet. But
I have said I do not want to say anything about the content of the
letter to the media. I hope Mr. Baykal will agree," Erdogan said.

In the letter, Baykal addressed a 2007 meeting held with Erdogan
and former Chief of General Staff Gen. YaÅ~_ar Buyukanıt. The prime
minister alluded to a comparison made by Baykal.

"I believe the comparison is wrong," Erdogan said, adding that meetings
between prime ministers and generals are often misunderstood. "The
new meeting will be different. Each of us will make statements after
the meeting," he said.

Erdogan said Parliament would discuss the matter further in an
open session in the coming weeks. "We are not talking behind closed
doors. We will share any developments with the public. We do not want
to run the process secretly," he said.

Baykal, in his address to parliamentary lawmakers Tuesday afternoon,
described the meeting as historical and crucial. "I am aware of this
fact. I wish the pr istakes to his face. I will disclose all of what
you have on your mind," Baykal said.

Recalling that he had expressed his concerns in his letter sent to
Erdogan, Baykal denied that "the meeting will be the one in which
Erdogan informs the main opposition about the motives of the move. Why
do you hide your road map from the public? The CHP will not help you
disguise your road map," he said.

Baykal said his condition for the meeting was that it "was not the
sort of reunion that could be kept secret from the people. We’ll
kindly welcome Mr. Prime Minister and we’ll show all our respect to
him at our headquarters."

Bahceli slams CHP

The correspondence between Erdogan and Baykal seems to have disturbed
the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, which has been most vocal
against the government-led Kurdish initiative. "Mr. Baykal is about
to become the Prime Minister’s co-pilot on his journey to destroy the
unity of the country. The troika of destruction will be established
with Mr. Baykal’s participation in the process," MHP leader Devlet
Bahceli said in an address to his party.

"Recording the meeting will not save Mr. Baykal," he said.

On the other hand, the leader of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society
Party, or DTP, repeated his call to Baykal to fully back the Kurdish
initiative. "We want Baykal to leave his fear-based policies behind,"
he said in Parliament. Turk also said it was the right time to consider
submitting essential constitutional amendments for consideration
by referendum. "We need a comprehensive amendment to this current
Constitution. That’s the only way to make the country more democratic,"
he said.

PM calls for softer rhetoric

Criticizing the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, for the language
it used against the ruling party, the prime minister asked all parties
to embrace "a more contributive approach in the new legislative year."

"Let’s make this legislative year a year of dialogue, democratic
maturity, and good relations. A democratic soci uld have dialogue
and consensus. It must tolerate different opinions. You cannot shake
clenched fists," he said.

Erdogan said some people continue to benefit from the ongoing
terrorism in the country and that it is an issue that is hindering the
government’s efforts to solve the problem. "We have begun a journey to
stop what is happening regarding terrorism. We will succeed. Though
terror has its own economy, new democratic initiatives will disrupt
it."

Armenian move slammed as well

The signing of the historical protocols with Armenia was also on the
agenda of the opposition parties.

"Wouldn’t we be at a different point today if the Minsk Group
had spent the same amount of energy on solving Nagorno-Karabakh
as it did on trying to open the border between Turkey and
Armenia?" Baykal said. Criticizing the government for putting the
ball in Parliament’s court, he said: "It’s far from sincere. Did you
sign the protocols? Yes, you did, so why are you now changing your
course?" asked the main opposition leader.

Bahceli, for his part, reiterated that his party would never support
such a move until the problems with Azerbaijan are solved by an
Armenian withdrawal from occupied Azerbaijani territories.