BY FIKRET BILA
MILLIYET- CHP leader Deniz Baykal underlined that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government must be able to thoroughly analyze the public reaction to the indignity shown against our flag in Mersin. He also said that the public outrage wasn’t limited to condemning the burning of our flag.
Baykal asserted that the public’s reaction is mainly against the government and its EU policy. ‘What the government couldn’t see was that there was already a public reaction before the burning of our flag,’ he said. ‘The events in Mersin only added to what was there. Our people have realized that the AKP government is incapable of protecting our values and interests.’
The opposition leader then listed the reasons for the public’s wounded feelings: ‘The public has come to see that our relations with the European Union have turned out far more troublesome than expected. Our people feel they have been deceived. In fact, Erdogan and the AKP government also have the same feeling. That’s why Erdogan is so nervous these days. The EU hasn’t lifted a finger to facilitate Turkey’s membership, but imposed heavy conditions instead. Turkey has been forced to make concessions on Cyprus. Now they are talking about confederalism. The Kurdish and Alawi issues are also being brought up. Our national values and interests are being violated. Since our government failed to respond to these threats, thus came the recent General Staff statement.’
Concerning terrorist Abdullah Ocalan, Baykal said that a retrial of Ocalan would insult and traumatize 70 million people, and continued: ‘No less than 30,000 people were killed, and the culprit was justly punished. But the EU is demanding a retrial. If the government intends to retry Ocalan, the public’s outrage at this will be louder still. The AKP has to act cautiously in order not to offend the public. Or else, the public’s response to Ocalan will be greater than its reaction against the indignity shown to our flag.’