Aid distribution is fraud, says Bahçeli

Social aid to some, election bribes to others and hundreds of appliances to people in Tunceli were at the center of discussions yesterday at Parliament. The prime minister and leader of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan defended the decision by Tunceli Governor Mustafa Yaman to distribute aid in the small eastern province where no municipality is governed by the Justice and Development Party, or AKP.

Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, leader Devlet Bahçeli, however, described the aid as corruption that had tainted the upcoming local elections March 29.

The governor is merely using his legal power, Erdoğan said, targeting the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, a fervent opponent of handing out washing machines and refrigerators.

"They say we are in election politics and slander our name. This is merely aid granted to the poor," Erdoğan said at AKP’s parliamentary meeting yesterday.

The Supreme Elections Board, or YSK, warned over the weekend that aid influenced voters’ decisions and allowed the Tunceli prosecutor to launch an investigation at the request of a political party.

ErdoÄŸan, however, has not stepped back. "Some try to relate the aid to YSK’s declaration. I congratulate our governors who use their legal powers," ErdoÄŸan said.Â

CHP’s chador and Koran course initiatives are just election play, said Erdoğan. "We are pleased they realize how people live, even if they only do it once in four years."

Tunceli governor’s major appliance distribution to poor people is cheating them in an illegitimate and unethical way, Bahçeli said speaking to his lawmakers yesterday. "Election bribes and flattery," said Bahçeli, adding that the acts "corrupt the national will."

"Shame on our democracy for considering fraud against the national will legitimate and for failing to firmly establish ethical political principles," he said. "Stand up to your lies and apologize to the people for everything you failed to do. Corruption has to be on today’s agenda as Prime Minister Erdoğan and a bunch of interest-based networks rule supreme."

’Easier said than done’
Erdoğan was skeptical that Baykal would provide support to Turkey’s European Union accession, as he pledged to the European Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn in a meeting in Brussels.

"Turkey is an inseparable part of the modern world and it is a democratic, secular and social state with rule of law and a clear orientation. We continue in full stride on our path to full membership in the EU," Erdoğan said, first praising Baykal’s message. "The main opposition leader says his party will support the EU accession process. A nice development, but they must stop creating obstacles in Parliament."It does not end by speaking to Olli Rehn. We need to see action," Erdoğan said.

"Just as they failed to grasp our attitude at Davos, they mistakenly state people were wrong in their choice on July 22," Erdoğan said, referring to the landslide victory his party won in the last general elections. MHP leader Bahçeli for his part challenged the "unyielding image" the government, especially EU chief negotiator Egemen Bağış’s claim that Erdoğan saved Turkish soldiers who were arrested and hooded by U.S. troops in July 2003, with a harsh speech against the U.S. vice-president.

"The AKP is used to mocking people’s intelligence and has hit rock bottom in its attempts to pass the prime minister’s subdued stance off as heroism. Turkish soldiers were detained on July 4, 2003. The initiative to free them was launched by military officers, two days before the prime minister found a chance to speak with the U.S. vice-president on the phone," Bahçeli said. "The [prime minister] was a hawk at Davos, but a sparrow in Sulaymaniyah." The government’s indifference has left Turkey to the whims of the financial crisis and "amateurishly watched events unfold," Bahçeli said.