In an interview before the Turkish parliament passed a bill lifting immunity of lawmakers on Friday Suat Kinklioglu, who served as the deputy of the party between 2009 and 2012, warned against what he called the “autocratic” tendencies in Erdogan’s leadership. Kinklioglu, 51, believes this is dividing Turkey.
“It is an authoritarian system of which we have seen plenty of examples in this region. It has generally put the country in a situation with no end or hope in sight. It is unfortunate that Turkey witnesses such a situation. We are destroying the democratic experience by ourselves and that is how the world around us looks upon us,” he told Rudaw.
The following is a transcript of the interview.
Rudaw: Turkey is in the midst of an extraordinary period of its history especially since late 2013 with corruption scandals and the repeated abstraction of justice. What do you think the country is heading towards in light of the recent events?
Suat Kinklioglu: That is the million-dollar question in fact. Although it is difficult to verify the claim you just made, still I think your description is quite right. Turkey has lost its sense of fairness. The principles have been rearranged and that has harmed both Turkey and the region. Unfortunately no one seems to look into the future at the moment.
Erdogan secured 49 percent of the votes and removed Davutoglu from his post. Do you think this was a coup?
It was clearly a violation of the constitution and a coup masterminded by the president -- who should have been impartial -- against a prime minister who was democratically elected. As I said earlier, the political principles of the country have been redefined and that is why no one raises their voice against these unusual circumstances. Turkey has practically adopted a presidential system.
Could we call the events that are happening in Turkey now as “an Middle Eastern model” of politics?
This is not about the east or the west. It is an authoritarian system of which we have seen plenty of examples in this region. It has generally put the country in a situation with no end or hope in sight. It is unfortunate that Turkey witnesses such a situation. We are destroying the democratic experience by ourselves and that is how the world around us looks upon us.
Was Davutoglu removed from his post since he was not cooperative? Did he fail to realize the new realities in Turkey?
There was some tension between Davutoglu and Erdogan for a while. Erdogan had no real trust in Davutoglu who did not support the presidential system as it was clearly expected from him. And then their relations deteriorated completely. The AKP was no longer a party, it was Erdogan’s party. And of course you know how to interpret the rest of the events.
Do you think Turkey has adopted the political tradition in the Middle East when allowing such things to happen?
Well, Turkey is now adopting “the Middle Eastern” model of governance. Obviously, Erdogan wants nothing to do with the European Union or the rest of the international community. He wants to find his place in the Middle East. He doesn’t want the powers to be separated and he surely is not a supporter of the constitution. We are dealing with a kind of monarchy (sultanate). Erdogan was driving towards Brussels, but he ended up in Raqqa.
Erdogan says he wants a presidential system in Turkey but how can it be different from an autocratic system?
Well, he paves the way for an autocratic government in which his family will run the country. And then Turkey will be a republic only on paper.
The opposition seems to be absent in the debate.
The opposition has no strategic thinking. Their way of leadership has not been productive. They are not organized and united. After the June elections in 2015, an historical opportunity emerged in the country but (Nationalist Movement Party, MHP, leader) Devlet Bahceli wasted it. Erdogan is in fact lucky to have them as the opposition. The Turkish public knows that this opposition is incapable of change.
If the MHP holds its long-anticipated congress and elects a new leader, do you believe it can impact Erdogan?
Yes, I think it will be very much effective. Many have pinned their hopes on this congress. People are generally supportive of Meral Aksener. A new opposition is very much needed to revive the Turkish society.
Now when Davutoglu is away, will there be any more dissidents within the AKP?
There is some level of anxiety in the party but not to the extent that it would pose a threat against Erdogan. Obviously, removing Davutoglu has worried a lot of people but the party is now fully under Erdogan’s control. So reform within the party is difficult since it is fully in the service of one person alone.
Erdogan said in the beginning that the Kurdish question was his question. And then he started to reject everything that related to it. What do you think will be the future of the Kurdish question?
I am very much worried about that. Erdogan has been using the Kurdish question as a means for his own political survival. This is an important issue that needs to be addressed very thoroughly. But unfortunately, the prevailing language at the moment is the language of violence and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) also appears to be very much interested in violence. It is utterly shameful to resolve this issue militarily in our time. Brotherhood is not achieved through violence.
There are clashes in Turkey’s southeast (Kurdistan). And there is an ongoing war in Syria. What will happen to this region in the short run, you think?
The war will continue until the PKK unilaterally declares a ceasefire.
Do you think there is a kind of Kurdophobia in Turkey? And if so, what are the reasons?
Turkey is a large country and should believe in itself. But when the Kurdish question is addressed, people generally feel that the country will disintegrate and that feeling confine the entire question. To understand that one needs to see the question in a historical context and maybe go back to the last Ottoman century and even shortly after that.
Where is the Kurdish political movement now? Do you think the Kurdish question could go backwards?
Kurds are disappointed with both the government and the PKK. The solution was more talks. But unfortunately demonizing the HDP (pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party) made Turkey lose the greatest opportunity for peace. We were generally very happy about the June elections last year. But sadly nothing came out of it. Living side by side in Turkey is possible. It is up to the politicians to find the ways to do that.
Do you think Erdogan will become the president again? And if that happens again what will become of Turkey?
That is a possibility, but if that happens, he will face great challenges in running the country. When Erdogan received 49 percent of the votes, it led to a crisis in governance.
The presidential system will not bring stability to Turkey. On the contrary it will divide it further. It will also lead to more unrest and isolation on the world stage.
