Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Feb 18 2008
PM: Some circles within the state want to slow down Ergenekon
crackdown
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan acknowledged yesterday that some
circles within the state body were disturbed by an operation against
Ergenekon, a shadowy and illegal crime organization some of whose
members were arrested in a recent police crackdown.
Erdoðan spoke on ATV’s "Agenda with the prime minister" TV program..
"We have a problem here. There are some segments in the state willing
to slow down this process [the crackdown on Ergenekon]," said
Erdoðan. The prime minister vowed that his government would do its
best to uncover the connections of Ergenekon in the state. He said
the Ergenekon investigation had already begun and would continue
until the gang is fully exposed. He claimed that his government has
been the country’s most courageous to date and has shown a strong
determination in dealing with gangs.
When asked whether recent attacks on non-Muslims in Turkey — the
killing of a Catholic priest in Trabzon in 2006, the murder of ethnic
Armenian journalist Hrant Dink by an ultranationalist youth in 2007
and a brutal attack on three Christians missionaries in Malatya last
April — were the work of the Ergenekon gang, he replied: "Judicial
processes in all these incidents are still in progress. When they are
concluded, we will find out together."
Erdoðan also dwelled on arguments brought up by some media outlets
surrounding "neighborhood pressure" — the suggestion that allowing
covered students to attend university would cause pressure on others
to don headscarves. He accused some media institutions of inviting
pressure by bringing up such arguments to the agenda. "We see that
some media organs attempt to show a few provocative incidents as
being common all around the country," he said. In reference to
several news articles that recently appeared in some newspapers with
provocative headlines as examples of neighborhood pressure, Erdoðan
described them as scenarios frequently used in the past. "When you
uncover the background of such provocative incidents, you realize
they are nothing more than provocation," added the prime minister.
Cautioning the public about ongoing debates over removing a headscarf
ban on university campus, Erdoðan called on people to be vigilant
about provocative acts. He also directed harsh criticism at some
media outlets for adopting a provocative stance on the elimination of
the headscarf ban. "We are aware that certain media outlets exert
their utmost effort to drag the country into an atmosphere of chaos.
We receive necessary intelligence about their acts," he said.
Underlining that some circles are trying to spark a war between
covered and uncovered women, Erdoðan noted: "Both covered and
uncovered women live in the same family. There are women who do not
wear a headscarf in my family, too. We are living in peace and
fighting together against injustice. I see all of them as my sisters,
no matter whether they cover their hair or not. Our country does not
have a regime problem."
Erdoðan also criticized Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz
Baykal — who in a recent speech dropped hints he will challenge the
constitutional amendments approved on Feb. 9 by Parliament to lift
the headscarf ban at the Constitutional Court — saying: "Prior to
the July 22 polls, he used to claim that he would solve Turkey’s
long-standing headscarf problem. But today we see that he resorts to
every option to block the resolution of this problem."
Without mentioning his name, Erdoðan also slammed Hürriyet daily
Editor-in-Chief Ertuðrul Özkök, who in one of his columns criticized
the amendments to lift the headscarf ban at universities because he
saw the move as the "despotism of the majority."
"They ignore democracy and show 411 hands (the number of deputies who
voted in favor of the reform) as having voted for chaos. I cannot
support such an expression. It means making fun of the deputies,"
Erdoðan stressed.
Noting that there have always been discussions regarding the regime
in Turkey, Erdoðan reiterated that his party is not based on
religion. "We do not seek to establish a religious state. We said
this when we first established our party. Some circles keep
reiterating the same thing. They used to say Turkey would be a
religious state even when I was elected mayor of Ýstanbul years ago.
I have been active in politics for very many years. Have they seen
even the slightest inclination to this end?" he asked.
Erdoðan also touched upon a planned amendment to Article 17 of the
Higher Education Board (YÖK) Law. "We will kick off work on Article
17 of the YÖK Law after the Constitutional Court publicizes its
decision on the constitutional amendments, if the CHP challenges
them," he added.
18.02.2008
Today’s Zaman Ýstanbul
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
