Campaigning in Afyon, Erdogan lambastes DTP and MHP leaders

Addressing a campaign rally in Afyon yesterday ahead of local elections late next month, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized Democratic Society Party (DTP) leader Ahmet Turk for addressing the party's deputies in Kurdish during its group meeting in Parliament this week, accusing him of "trying to stoke tension." He added, "One who opposed TRT 6, (the state) Kurdish-language TV station, is trying to cause crises through violating the Constitution," as Turkish is the official language of all group meetings in Parliament. Erdogan also implicitly criticized opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli saying about the incident, "Parliament should do what is necessary to counter this betrayal." Saying that some are trying to lay the groundwork for tension and conflict, Erdogan said, "On the one side, there is a repressive mindset which doesn't allow a dialect to be spoken in daily life, and on the other, there are some who make shows through violating the Constitution."