In his party group meeting, President and the leader of AKP, Tayyip Erdogan implied that they would not accept the decision made by European Human Rights Tribunal for the immediate release of Selahattin Demirtas, former coleader of HDP. Erdogan made the statement “EHRT cannot make a decision substituting our courts’. EHRT decision has been made without the internal legal due diligence.”
The highlights from President and AKP leader Tayyip Erdogan’s address are as follows:
“[...] I think these individuals are often to be reminded of that Turkey has been governed by democracy for 70 years.”
“By every opportunity they find, they turn to single-party fascism, A singularity like reading Coran in Turkish was staged in Istanbul.”
“In whole our lives, we have never interfered in any body’s ethnicity, belief, spirit, culture, way of life. However, we also do not allow anyone to interfere in or to defame our belief, spirit, culture. While the nation has no such intent, we find it evil-minded that our religious symbols are teased with ideological, touristic, commercial calculations.”
“In the aftermath of the coup attempt in December 17-25, we know who tasked those who broadcasted the recordings made up by FETÖ [Fethulah Gülen’s Terror Organisation].”
It is our binding duty to bury in history the mindset putting in the centre the hostility to its own people and country, together with those prompting it.”
“The individual representing this mindset slipped and lowered himself into as deep as relating the law of repatriation of capital, that we made use of from time to time to gain internally and externally the resources for our country, to drug trafficking, sex and organ trade.”
“Like everything else, hopefully, we are destined with instituting also the opposition that is unique and national for our country. Together with the Republican Union, we are focused first of all on having our country reach the year 2023.”
“We do not expect those, whose foreign political vision is nothing but sending ‘greetings from Turkey to Fascist Italy,’ to understand such self-reliance and horizon. We are aware of their difficulty in feeling the excitement of the victory in Nagorno-Karabakh.”
“Our country cannot have a luxury of turning its back neither to the East nor to the West. While advancing our relations with Europe and the USA, we cannot ever ignore the Turkish world, Asia, Latin America and Africa. Together with this, despite our all efforts, the year 2020 has become the year in which our relations with Europe and the USA were tested with artificial agendas.”
“Turkey has met with double standards that it has not deserved over both East Mediterranean issue and the case of S-400s. In the new year, we wish to open a new chapter on our relations with Europe and the USA.”
“We believe that the new President of the USA, Biden will also watch over the Turkish-American relations with due diligence. We do not have any prejudices, evil-mindedness, hostility against anyone. Up to now, we have immediately reached out to anyone approaching us even with one step closer. We keep the same sincerity and goodwill today. We will continue to work with all our allies who take our extended hand in peace, justice, prosperity, and specifically in easing the tensions in our region.”
“EHRT cannot pass a verdict in place of our courts. EHRT’s Demirtaş verdict is a decision reached without exhausting the internal legal avenues. The only thing is that there the decisions made are assessed by our courts. Europe Human Rights Tribunal has made it an exceptional case by passing this verdict without the internal legal avenues are exhausted. Even if we put the exception case aside, the verdict related to Demirtaş conflicts apparently, for example, with the rationale in the decision for Batasuna of Spain.”
“It is clearly a double standard, even hypocrisy that a tribunal, which views it as supporting the terror not to condemn the violent function of the terror organization, orders the release of the main perpetrator of the function which resulted in 39 of our citizens brutally murdered in October 6-8, 2014.”
“These steps are completely political. We know what is behind of them, and why. This decision is a double standard, hypocrisy. The murderer of Kobane is him, the murderer of 53 youth in Diyarbakir is him. EHRT, we’ll continue to explain it to you even if you fall short to understand it.”
“If EHRT wants to have respect in Turkey, it should better stop and question its own conflicts.”
“I want to remind once again that the case of the argument here is that he is the person who has been hand in glove with PKK recognized as terror organization by European Parliament, is the person with a mask of political figure whose hands are in blood of tens of innocent people.”
“This individual is guilty in the eyes of our nation, not for his political speeches and duties, but for causing the death of tens of people by the divisionist terror organization’s orders, for not putting himself apart from terror.”
“The signals of the position this very same tribunal will take in the cases of FETO have already become visible. We recommend that the tribunal, not treating PKK as terror organization, not treating the people in cooperation with PKK as terrorists, not demonstrate the same approach. Otherwise, I want it also known that we are not obliged to tolerate such double standard and hypocrisy any more.” (EVRENSEL DAILY)
Yusuf Karadaş