Amid harsh rhetoric, Bahçeli re-elected as MHP chairman

Sunday, November 8, 2009
GÃ-KSEL BOZKURT
ANKARA Hürriyet Daily News

Describing the ruling government’s Kurdish move to end the terror
problem a ‘collapse plan,’ Turkey’s nationalist opposition leader
criticized the government’s Islamic discourse and likened its Kurdish
initiative to the Crusades

Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, leader Devlet Bahçeli harshly
criticized the ruling government in a general assembly meeting, where
he was re-elected head of the party for a sixth term.

The MHP’s ninth general assembly was held Sunday in Ankara. Bahçeli
was elected leader for a sixth term with 1,171 delegate votes. The
assembly was marked by Bahçeli’s harsh criticism of the ruling Justice
and Development, or AKP’s, `democratic move.’

Bahçeli described the AKP’s Kurdish initiative as a `collapsed plan,’
criticized the AKP’s Islamic discourse, and likened the Kurdish
initiative to a crusade.

The assembly began eventfully on Sunday morning when a group of MHP
members entered the assembly hall and were mistakenly thought to be
colleagues of Bahçeli’s rival Ahmet Reiz Yılmaz upon entrance. Upon
entry, the group was hissed at by MHP delegates in the hall. The chaos
eased when an announcement revealed that the group was from the MHP’s
Istanbul provincial headquarters.

AKP attempt artificial

Bahçeli was the sole candidate for party leadership. A change was made
in the party constitution that allowed Bahçeli to be elected for a
sixth term. The former constitution limited leadership to five terms
in office.

In his two-hour speech, Bahçeli highlighted the dangers concerning the
country’s safety: safety, division, dissociation in the country’s
political and social texture, the global financial crisis, poverty,
developments that threaten the country’s perpetuity, and the
government’s surrender to these international powers. Bahçeli said
Turkey was threatened by the AKP’s management.

`Those who have hidden plans for Turkey, including the Greeks,
Armenians, Peshmerga, those who possessed the mentality of the
Crusaders, murderers of the Muslims and enemies of Turks, all wait in
line for the AKP to fulfill their dreams. They all wait their turn ¦
to take revenge on our nation and geography,’ Bahçeli said.

Addressing Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an, Bahçeli said: `Turkey
is our homeland. We have nowhere else to go. Nobody can make us leave
this country.’ He emphasized they would not make concessions on the
principles of a single flag, nation, country and language.

Bahçeli also criticized the AKP for its Islamic discourse and declared
the AKP’s efforts to protect the Palestinians an artificial attempt.

"We understand that it is the AKP’s mission to assume the
co-presidency of the Great Middle East Project, which is based on the
massacre of Muslims,’ Bahçeli said. `The AKP truly turned into the
Trojan horse, which assumed the role of preparing Islamic countries
against the impositions of the new type of imperialism,’ Bahçeli said.