ANKARA - Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said ''I wasn't going to run in 2004 elections but now if my health permits, I'll try to do my job'' when he attended an interview on NTV on Thursday night.
Answering a question on his illness, Ecevit stated that he was taken very good care of at Baskent hospital and he was surprised by the rumors that he didn't receive good care.
''I didn't go for a check-up to prevent more rumors,'' he said. ''I feel good now. I was able to climb the stairs of Anitkabir without any help. I went to Istanbul and these encouraged me. I couldn't stand the army of reporters so I took a risk of not seeing doctors.'' Ecevit also said that he was continuing to take his medicine.
When asked when he was planning to leave politics, Ecevit said he was planning to quit politics in 2004 but now he will try to do his job if his health permits.
''I'll do my best to prepare the Democratic Left Party (DSP) to become a government after me,'' he also remarked.
Ecevit said he doesn't regret inviting Kemal Dervis to Turkey to become state minister. He also said that he expected Dervis to join the DSP after his last meeting with him.
ECEVIT SAYS HE FOUND DERVIS' STATEMENTS ''VERY SURPRISING''
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit has said that he found Kemal Dervis's statement very surprising and added that half of the Democratic Left Party (DSP) left the party with Dervis's encouragement.
''However some interesting things happened, the New Turkey Party (YTP) was founded,'' the prime minister said. ''Secretary General of this party Talay said they were not leftists. A few days later Cem said 'I think we are democratic left.' All these of course surprised me. They also got closer to a central right Democratic Turkey Party (DTP) which is a new party.''
''Dervis is saying that all leftists parties should unite with Baykal but Baykal divided his parties several times in the past. He had broken his ties with another social democrat party. He was never consistent. But Dervis, maybe because he doesn't know our political history well, made the CHP look like the most consistent party among other. I've been in politics actively for half a century and I never witnessed such surprising things.''
Ecevit also said that those who resigned from the DSP did so because they were encouraged by Dervis.
Ecevit said that it wasn't his concern that Dervis will not join the YTP but he was sorry for those who resigned from his party.
Stating that he wasn't expecting so many resignations from the DSP, Ecevit said ''Even without me, I believe that my friends in the DSP will run the party very successfully. I already started seeing the proof of that and this is enough for me.''