It seems that many people vote for the party not because they like it, but because they hate the Justice and Development Party (AK Party). It is obvious that this is not healthy for the Turkish political system. Public opinion is not sure about the party's proposed policies on several key issues, such as Turkey's EU accession process. The last straw, in my opinion, that broke the camel's back was the CHP's stance toward the issue of land mine removal on the Turkish-Syrian border. The party tried to create havoc by strongly claiming that the AK Party secretly agreed with the Israelis so that an Israeli company would remove the mines and would start using the vast land, more than 500 kilometers along the Syrian border, for 44 years for farming purposes. In the domestic political arena, the CHP may be trying to score a few points against the AK Party, but they must be thinking that the international public sphere is full of idiots.The CHP members of Parliament were so adamant in their claims about the alleged AK Party-Israel conspiracy on the Syrian border that one of the deputies -- Mr. Ahmet Ersin, a lawyer by profession -- stood by the Israeli ambassador to Ankara's car, which was parked in Parliament's car park, and harshly criticized those who were in talks with the Israeli ambassador in the Parliament. Apparently, in his conspiratorial mind, the ambassador was talking to the AK Party deputies and possibly Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He was so sure about this that he said the ambassador's visit to Parliament was a shame to Turkey, and so on. To his astonishment, he later learned that the ambassador was not paying a visit to AK Party members, but to one of Ersin's friends, another CHP deputy, Şahin Mengü. As far as I can see from the media, no one has seen Mr. Ersin after the incident so that they could ask him how he felt. Who knows, he could try to explain away the shameful incident with another Jewish conspiracy.
This funny but real episode is an excellent summary of what the CHP has been trying to do with regard especially to Turkish foreign policy. They were trembling in fear after Erdoğan's Davos incident, and one of the party's leading figures, Onur Öymen, harshly criticized Erdoğan. But now, they seem very happy to fabricate conspiracy theories in which Erdogan and the AK Party give in to “monster” Israel. They must be thinking that the Israelis, who they feared most when Erdoğan criticized them just because they were butchering innocent civilians and babies in Gaza, are not watching them. Or else, they are not as afraid of Israel as they seem to claim. I am confused. Anyhow, last week another CHP deputy who once implied that Abdullah Gül was of Armenian origin was in the United States and was trying to convince her Jewish interlocutors that the AK Party is anti-Semitic.
On the other hand, we also know that one of the suspects of Ergenekon trial, Ergün Poyraz -- who was reportedly paid by the Turkish gendarmerie for his services -- wrote two separate books about Mr. Gül and Erdoğan. (And we all know that CHP's leader Deniz Baykal repeatedly stated that he was fully supporting the Ergenekon suspects.) Poyraz's book on Erdoğan and his wife, Emine Erdoğan, is titled “Moses' Children,” and he implies in the book that the Erdoğans are secret Jews. The book on President Gül is named “Moses' Rose.” Rose is the English equivalent of the word “gül,” and Mr. Poyraz is similarly implying that Mr. Gül is also a secret Jew. These are all confusing. We should ask the CHP, its leader and its deputies: Why do you seem to portray Jews and Israeli companies as “monsters” while simultaneously remaining silent in the face of the Zionist massacres in Palestine, of which not every Jew supports?
It is obvious that the CHP is not clear, unequivocal and principled on these issues. They have an archaic mindset that orders them to oppose whatever the government does. No one knows what their opinions about the EU, Middle East, US, Central Asia, Alevis, Turkish non-Muslim minorities, human rights, privatization and so on are. Its sister parties in Europe were closed down after World War II, and its continued existence may be the only negative side effect of Turkey's non-participation of this disastrous war. Unlike Germans and Italians, Turkish people are still -- at least mentally -- suffering.
