Baykal: "Erdogan should pratice politics in line with Ataturk's principles"

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal yesterday rebuffed Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan's criticism that he was hiding behind the Republic's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, to score political points. "Ataturk is a political figure, you also should practice politics this way. This is your mistake," Baykal said at his party's parliamentary group meeting. "It is not unlawful to do politics in line with Ataturk's principles, but doing politics through religion is wrong." Accusing the premier of having been implicated with committing forgery, Baykal charged that Erdogan was hiding behind his parliamentary immunity. Speaking to his parliamentary group meeting, opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli yesterday criticized European Union Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso's recent visit to Turkey. Bahceli suggested that Barroso had acted like an inspector and shown the EU's biased stance on secularism, the headscarf issue, Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), and the southeastern issue.