Baykal Closed the Door to Government's "Opening" Initiative

Deniz Baykal, chair of the Republican People's Party (CHP), declared he will not meet with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to discuss the government's "democratic initiative" aimed to solve the Kurdish question

Baykal explained his decision in a press release issued yesterday (9 September) before a meeting of the provincial chairmen in party's headquarters:

"I am sorry to decline the Prime Minister's request. I actually do not want to behave this way. It cannot be considered appropriate to reject a request of the Prime Minister, I am aware that, it is not the right thing to do. We are not going to be a part of this process at all. In fact there is no request for an appointment. If it occurred, our answer to this question would be clear".

Prime Minister Erdoğan had requested an official appointment from the CHP chair one day before to obtain a statement about the party's thoughts on the governments "democratic initiative".

"We are against secret meetings"

Baykal described the government's process as an "attempt to divide the country on an ethnic basis". He also made clear that he disapproves of organizing secret session in the parliament: "We consider it wrong to hold secret sessions. It is not correct to hide these issues from the nation. Nobody knows what the PKK is thinking apart from the Prime Minister himself. It is hidden from the nation. Participating in such an operation is out of the question".

Negotiations with PKK?

Baykal claimed that the government is negotiating with the PKK and he criticized: "Negotiations are being conducted with the ones who hold weapons in their hands and with their supporters". A journalist asked Baykal "How can the government do that? The National Intelligence Agency...". Baykal interrupted the question by answering: "There are plenty of opportunities, plenty of ways, plenty of means".

"We want to get to know Öalan's road map"

Baykal also demanded to obtain an insight into imprisoned PKK leader Öalan's "road map", which Öcalan handed to the prison management. Baykals said:

"Öcalan prepared a writing on this topic and put forward his requests. It is said for several days that the road map will be made public. All hell broke loose all over Turkey. Now this writing has been handed to the government. Meanwhile it has been in the hands of the government for weeks. What happened? So why do they not reveal it?"

"Do we not have to see it? What does he want? We heard bits and pieces of what he wants but we want to see his latest requests on his own behalf. We want to see these two records full of evaluations. Let us know about it so that the truth can come out."

"You are putting forward a process, calling it an opening process, together with the society you say. You are knocking on everybody's door, asking everybody. Why are you hiding your thoughts from the nation? Why do you feel the necessity to hide the requests regarding this issue form the nation?"

How a consensus is sought in Ireland

Lord John Alderdice, involved in the peace process regarding the Irish Republican Army (IRA), said that an armed organization cannot be ignored during the process of finding a solution. Nevertheless, the British government does not sit down directly at the same table with the IRA. In the IRA peace process former IRA militant and Sinn Fein Party official Jim Gibney represents the Irish side. About including the IRA into the process of finding a solution he said: "You cannot make decisions on their behalf or decisions affecting them without including them." He advised the Turkish government to talk to the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP). (TK/VK)