State of emergency stays, SP out

The meeting between President and AKP General Chair Tayyip Erdoğan and Felicity Party (SP) General Chair Temel Karamollaoğlu has scotched expectations that January saw the final extension of the state of emergency. Erdoğan said of the state of emergency, whose lifting Karamollaoğlu called for, “There is a need and it will continue.”

 The state of emergency, which was declared for three months on 20 July 2016 following the coup attempt and was extended for a further three months last month, having lasted one and a half years, was also a matter that left its mark on the discussions between Erdoğan and Karamollaoğlu. All parties except the AKP and MHP have frequently voiced their opposition to the state of emergency. Finally, eleventh President Abdullah Gül, in saying, “Hopefully it is being extended for the last time” when it was most recently extended in January, joined the ranks of the state of emergency opponents.

 “The state of emergency is becoming normal”

SP Leader Karamollaoğlu raised issues concerning democratisation, chiefly the state of emergency and decrees with the force of law, rather than the electoral alliance, with Erdoğan the day before yesterday. Karamollaoğlu expressed the view, “The state of emergency is now becoming normal. There seems to be an attitude that the state of emergency will never end. However, we must lift the state of emergency immediately and pass to the normal, ordinary situation. Turkey must absolutely not embark on elections under the state of emergency.” From among the opinions that Karamollaoğlu expressed, Erdoğan only objected to those concerning the state of emergency during the meeting. Erdoğan, speaking of its necessity, gave the message that the state of emergency would continue. These comments by Erdoğan have created the impression in SP circles that the state of emergency would continue until the election or even that the elections would be held under the state of emergency.

 Reference to the Turkish Medical Association

Karamollaoğlu indicated in the discussion that, in fighting against the coup and coupists, injustices were being created, especially under decrees with the force of law. Karamollaoğlu, without making direct mention by name, referred to those who had been arrested for making posts about the Afrin operation and also to the Turkish Medical Association people who had both been arrested and about whom fresh statutory regulation is being mooted. Karamollaoğlu said, “It is incorrect to punish those who think differently by branding them in advance as criminals.”

Invitation from Erdoğan

At the talks, Erdoğan, referring to the alliance they had made with the MHP, also made an invitation to the SP, saying, “We must be together for the people and for the Islamic world.” However, Karamollaoğlu, stressing that the solving of the country’s problems was more important than approaches that might amount to a direct alliance, indicated that he was distancing himself from the AKP-MHP alliance. Erdoğan further stated that he was thinking of a more meaningful unity, not an alliance in a narrow sense, alluding to the SP’s National View character. This has courted questions in SP circles as to whether this comment by Erdoğan was meant to tell them, “Close your party and come,” in the way that Numan Kurtulmuş and Süleyman Soylu had joined in the past.

 The issue of 100,000 signatures

Karamollaoğlu also made suggestions to Erdoğan at the meeting that, as part of harmonisation efforts, the 100,000 signature implementation via the notary be simplified and that the threshold be reduced in place of alliances, and imparted studies complied by the SP in this regard. Erdoğan then said that there were harmonisation commissions together with the MHP and he would assign the task within this context and have the SP’s proposals looked into.

Following the meeting, the opinion to gain ground in the SP was that there should be no participation in the AKP-MHP alliance and the party should without fail field its own candidate in the first round of the election. As to the second round of the election,

Karamollaoğlu will continue his discussions with the parties that constituted the “no” block in the 16 April elections.

http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/siyaset/924047/OHAL_var__SP_yok.html