FIKRET BILA
MILLIYET- The Republican People's Party (CHP) didn't make an appointment to meet with Abdullah Gul. Furthermore, it announced that the CHP would apply a kind of boycott on him if he becomes our next president. It stated that they would not attend any activities or receptions held in the Cankaya Presidential Palace, other than meetings vital for the country.
Even before he's elected, the main opposition CHP has taken a very hard line against Gul.
During the recent general election campaign and after this new decision, CHP leader Deniz Baykal and his party were criticized as a party which both creates and is nourished by crises.
Speaking with Baykal, I asked why his party is making such hard-line decisions, and here's what he said:
`The CHP led by our great leader Ataturk is the founding party of the modern Republic of Turkey. As a founding party, it carries historic responsibility. We react in line with our responsibility as the founding party, and are doing our historic duty of warning.
Someone who isn't loyal to secularism and the nation-state principles of the Constitution rising to the presidency is the beginning of a dangerous process for the country. We are only trying to preserve Ataturk's trust and make a serious warning on that issue. This is both our duty and responsibility.'
When I asked about criticisms that the CHP is creating crises, Baykal denied this, saying it was rather preventing crisis by issuing necessary warnings beforehand.
`The premier also saw the possibility of crisis, but he couldn't stop Gul. This process is going beyond both Erdogan and Gul. This process is one which will change both the structure and image of Turkey in 10-20 years, turning it into a moderate Islamic country. We're trying to underline that danger. When Gul becomes president, the presidency, an institution which serves as a guarantor for the democratic, secular republic, will begin to function differently. We are worried about that. We're not acting out of concern over votes. While expressing our concerns during the general election campaign, we didn't even try to score votes or political points. We still aren't making such calculations. We are trying to prevent the Republic of Turkey from being diverted from its democratic, secular structure. Don't forget that the international powers which want Turkey transformed from a secular state into a moderate Islamic country also have a great on impact on these developments. The accumulated capital of our 80-year-old republic is in danger. All this, from the economy to politics, from bureaucracy to daily life, can be at risk. So we're taking a definite stance to prevent those things from happening. Gul should understand that when he becomes president he can't act however he likes'.