WE WILL HAVE NOTHING TO SAY IF TURKISH PARLIAMENT DECIDES ON A CERTAIN SYSTEM, SAYS PM ERDOGAN
Anadolu Agency
May 7 2012
Turkey
Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday said that the writing
process for Turkey’s new constitution began and that a presidential
system in Turkey maybe debated during this process.
Speaking to reporters at a joint press conference with his Slovenian
counterpart Janez Jansa in Ljubljana, Erdogan said that presidency
system could be discussed within the scope of preparation process
for a new constitution.
We will have nothing to say if the Turkish parliament decides on a
certain system after debates, Erdogan stressed.
A sun of reality gets borne after the clash and debate of ideas,
Erdogan underlined.
Reminded about two Turkish journalists Adem Ozkose and Hamit Coskun
in Syria and their meeting with officials of the Humanitarian Aid
Foundation on Sunday and asked about their possible return to Turkey,
Erdogan said that he made some statements on the matter in Gaziantep
on Sunday.
The issue of the two Turkish journalists in Syria is being closely
followed by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). Turkey’s
initiatives on the matter continue in Syria and Iran. Our wish is to
see the two journalists released as soon as possible. We will follow
up on the matter closely, Erdogan underlined.
Asked if a military intervention to Syria was among Turkey’s options,
Erdogan said that Turkey did not have a problem with the people
of Syria.
The Syrians are our brothers, sisters and friends. We have a border
that is 910 kilometers long with Syria. We have kinship ties with
Syria. There are close ties between those residing in Aleppo, and
Hatay-Antakya. Everyone must know that we have a certain responsibility
in the case of Syria, Erdogan noted.
Turkey feels a kind of responsibility based on humanitarian laws and
international laws when it comes to Syria, Erdogan stated.
We are against the Syrian regime. No one should expect us to be
on the side of the tyrants. More than 10,000 people were killed in
Syria. The number of injured is not certain. There are around 150,000
Syrians who have been displaced and have become refugees. 23,000 of
them reside in Turkey. More than 100,000 reside in Jordan. A certain
number of Syrians are living in Lebanon. Syrians are running away from
tanks and artillery fire. I do not believe that the Syrian regime can
continue for long. The national will of the Syrian people will soon
win over the regime. No one can achieve victory against a people and
nation. If you act with the nation, you can achieve victory. You are
bound to lose if you act against the national will. This is what is
going to happen in Syria, Erdogan indicated.
“We have always remained at the table but they ran away”
Reminded that a new political term began in France and how Turkey will
continue its sanctions against France, Premier Erdogan said that the
elections process in France was not over yet and that a parliamentary
election would take place in France in June.
Any statement we make before the parliamentary elections would be
wrong, Erdogan stressed.
Turkey and France have never been enemies against each other and we
do not want to see France as an enemy, Erdogan said.
We have always preferred to be silent against the negative stance of
the Sarkozy administration and their attitude on the so-called Armenian
genocide during our 9.5 years in rule. There are around 600,000 Turks
living in France. They make up a bridge between Turkey and France. We
have made efforts to protect such relations. I have had a chance to
work with Mr. Chirac. During the Chirac administration, we always
participated in the summit of leaders. Once Sarkozy came to power,
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Sarkozy blocked our participation
in the summit of leaders. On the Armenian issue, we have told Sarkozy
that this was a matter for historians and not parliaments. We went
further by saying that our state archives were ready for historians,
lawyers, political scientists and archeologists.
If Armenia and third countries have similar documents, they should
also make available such documents to historians and scholars. Just as
we are ready to face our history, so should Armenia. We also began an
initiative with our foreign ministers in Switzerland. We have always
remained at the table but they ran away. We do hope that, in this
new term in France, they would not run away from the table. There
is something we heard which I hope is not real. And, that has to
do with an approach that Turkey can not become an EU member unless
it solved the Armenian issue. I hope that such a statement was not
actually made. If such a statement was made, we would have to review
the whole process, Erdogan emphasized.
“It could be debated in the process”
Asked if a presidential system was on Turkey’s agenda, Premier Erdogan
said that this issue could be debated during the process of writing
the new Turkish constitution.
Debates on such a system are part of a democracy. We have to debate if
we wish a presidential or semi-presidential system. If the parliament
decides on a certain system, we would have nothing to say. A sun of
reality gets borne after the clash and debate of ideas, Erdogan said.
“Wrong behaviour against Turkey can be corrected”
Asked if France would have a different look at Turkey’s EU membership
after Sunday’s presidential election, Erdogan said that they had
better relations with social democrat parties in the EU.
The Christian Democrats should not be angry due to this fact,
Erdogan stated.
The social democrats always support Turkey. I do hope that the EU’s
wrong behaviour against Turkey, a country waiting to join the union
for 50 years, could be corrected in this new term with Mr. Hollande,
Erdogan noted.
Turkey has always been in a positive approach to the EU. Everything
that was not applied against other EU countries were applied on
Turkey. These were rules not mentioned in the EU acquis. The rules of
the game were changed during the game itself. You just can not change
ruled during a game. The game has already begun and the rules should
remain the same. I hope that during this new term France’s attitude on
Turkey gets more positive. We expect this from France. Turkey can make
contributions to the institutionalization of the EU, Erdogan also said.