Reception Boycott

The president and the commanders of the Turkish Armed Forces have not participated a foundation anniversary reception of the Parliament for the first time in 83 years.
Although Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan made statements saying that their wives would not participate the reception, president Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Chief of Staff General Hilmi Ozkok and commanders, leader of CHP Deniz Baykal, presidents of the Constitutional Court and Appeals Court did not participate the reception.
Evaluating the reception protest, PM Tayyip Erdogan aimed at CHP. Erdogan said that, nobody had a boycott right against the Children’s Day and added; “ The Turkish people will not forgive the people, who contributed the boycott.”
Meanwhile, Arinc said that, some people tried to overshadow the April 23, which the Turkish National Assembly celebrated and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk presented to the children, but they failed.
(4/24/2003)