ANKARA - Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said on Tuesday that Turkish Armed Forces' coming the stage of issuing a statement was sad and worrisome for the country and the regime.
Baykal said that Turkish Armed Forces was a basic institution of which everybody was proud, adding that ''the nation understands very well the Turkish Armed Forces. There is no need to worry.''
Addressing the parliamentary group meeting of his party, Baykal referred to the statement issued by General Staff yesterday, noting that General Staff's coming to the stage of issuing a statement was sad and worrisome for regime.
''Will Turkish Armed Forces be in a position to explain itself by issuing a statement? Will Turkish Armed Forces feel the worry of being misunderstood?'' Baykal said, adding that ''I said two weeks ago that everybody had to be very careful to keep the army away from politics. I tried to explain that it would not be useful to drag the Armed Forces into debates on politics... Turkish Armed Forces is a basic institution which contributed significantly to development, modernization, and formation of legal state in Turkey,'' Baykal said.
Baykal commented that there was no justified reason to cause discussion about the Turkish Armed Forces, adding that ''causing suspicions about Armed Forces has never been useful for those who caused such suspicions. In that respect I am very sorry about this development. I am sorry as the Armed Forces felt as if it was not understood by the people... Armed Forces felt the need to correct the injustice and mistakes done about themselves by issuing a statement... The expressions which were not used in National Security Council meetings are presented as if they were used, in order to cause suspicion and to ensure advantages. This is not an appropriate and just behavior. There is crisis of trust in the basic institutions of the state. This is very sad.''
(ÖS-AÖ) 06.05.2003