Opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has said he supports Constitutional Court President Haşim Kılıç for his speech last week in which he firmly declared that the court would not take instructions from the executive branch, stating that Kılıç's speech was correct and appropriate, though he questioned why Kılıç took so long to raise the issue of the troubling interventions of the executive branch in the judiciary.
Speaking during his party's parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday, Bahçeli spoke about Kılıç's speech on April 25 during a ceremony to mark the 52nd anniversary of the establishment of the Constitutional Court.
“The speech by the chief of the Constitutional Court was of course correct and appropriate. What we consider strange is why Kılıç put the [government's] very troubling practices which ignore the judiciary and the games being played on the rule of law on his agenda just recently. What could be the reason for why the chief of the Constitutional Court entered into a conflict [with the government]? Why did [Prime Minister Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan turn his face against his old friend? I wonder if there are attempts to change the country's agenda with this so-called fight between those old friends or if political engineering is currently under way,” Bahçeli questioned.
After the Constitutional Court reversed Erdoğan's earlier Twitter ban, the prime minister publicly blasted the move, saying he did not respect the court's ruling. Kılıç had criticized Erdoğan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in his speech during the ceremony, which was also attended by Erdoğan.
During the speech, Kılıç addressed and refuted Erdoğan's claims that the Constitutional Court had a political agenda, saying such claims amounted to “shallow criticism.”
“It is impossible for the judiciary to remain on its feet while it is tarnished by this allegation,” Kılıç had stated, criticizing Erdoğan's claims that the judiciary constituted a "parallel state" which was determined to unseat the government. Erdoğan walked out of the ceremony following Kılıç's speech.
Speaking on the controversy over whether Labor Day celebrations on May 1 would be allowed to take place at Taksim Square in central İstanbul, Bahçeli said the issue of whether the celebrations are confined to or associated with Taksim Square would not solve the problem of laborers in Turkey, adding that people should not forget that “May 1 is not the day of Taksim.”
Bahçeli also stated that the public and intellectuals are discussing ahead of May 1 whether the Labor Day celebrations would be held at Taksim Square instead of the problems of laborers and the possible steps to be taken to improve their working conditions and their workplace security.
Bahçeli also expressed his best wishes for Labor Day.
The government announced last year it would not allow celebrations in Taksim. The same pronouncement was made this year, with Interior Minister Efkan Ala saying “Taksim is no place for a celebration.”
However, a number of civil society organizations that make up the Taksim Solidarity Platform and some of the country's leading workers' unions have announced that they will celebrate the day despite the ban.
Harshly criticizing Erdoğan for his policies regarding the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Bahçeli also claimed Erdoğan is behaving as though he is a “secret member of the PKK,” adding that the prime minister currently has the mindset that he can give the PKK whatever it requests.
Source/Fuente: http://www.todayszaman.com/news-346474-bahceli-top-court-chiefs-speech-w...
