Atatürk debate in the CHP: Why did Kaftancıoğlu and the members of parliament meet face to face, what was the attitude of the party administration?

CHP Istanbul provincial chairman Canan Kaftanoğlu, the party anniversary on the 9 Taksim participated in the September meeting, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk “Kemal”, so to speak, has sparked a debate within the match.

Kaftancıoğlu, who reacted on his social media accounts for not using the expression “Atatürk” by some of the CHP deputies, reacted to those who accused him with the words “Atatürk keyboard”.

The CHP headquarters leadership, ignited by the growing debate, stepped in and applied Kaftancıoğlu’s knowledge. It emerged that the party administration did not intend to lead the disciplinary committees on the grounds that “there was no political intention or choice” under Kaftancıoğlu’s refusal to use the expression Atatürk.

CHP Vice President Oğuz Kaan Salıcı said: “There is no one in CHP who has a problem with Atatürk, who is hostile to Atatürk, who argues against Atatürk. It is against the nature of things.”

In the Sözcü Serpil Yılmaz newspaper columnist, CHP Istanbul Provincial President Canan Kaftancıoğlu, the guest of honor at the Taksim meetings held on the Internet on September 9, said “Gazi Mustafa Kemal” in his presentation on “The Place of organization in Turkish politics and electoral security “. Then from the participants, the former deputy speaker of Parliament, Uluç Gürkan, “Is it your choice not to use the name Atatürk?” He wrote that he raised his question.

In his article, Yılmaz stated that Kaftancıoğlu said, “When I talk about people’s names, I am against categorizing them with specific attributes with certain habits. I prefer to express them this way, as I have used it for years, because it is an expression to the one that I feel like I belong. “

Following publication of the article, Istanbul MPs Akif Hamzaçebi, Mehmet Ali Çelebi, Izmir MPs Bedri Serter, Atilla Sertel, Bilecik MP Yaşar Tuzün, Kamil Oktay Sındır, Tacettin Bayır and some former MPs reacted to Kaftancıo through their Twitter accounts.

Atilla Sertel said: “We will protect our lives against those who try to prolong our language to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, our supreme leader. This is true. However, if the necessary lesson is not taught to a provincial president who cannot say ‘Atatürk’ , this is our greatest fault. Remember, the founder of our party is our supreme leader. ” shared her message.

Akif Hamzaçebi also stated that he commemorated Atatürk with respect and gratitude and opined that “those who hesitate to mention Atatürk’s name are the ones who have problems with him.”

Mehmet Ali Çelebi also said: “A provincial chairman of our party would not prefer to say Atatürk. People should not say what they say after shouting in their heart. But remember, this is the CHP. Those who are confused should know well, this party will be held on October 29 before December 10. Mustafa Kemal ‘We are soldiers in’ shared the message.

On the growth of the debate, Kaftancıoğlu said: “In such a period and agenda, those who had to make this statement; ‘If Atatürk were alive, he would have chased you and the keyboard Kemalists with a stick’ (in such references, they have right :)) He made a statement on Twitter with the note.

In his statement, Kaftancıoğlu stated that he asked if there was a special reason why Uluç Gürkan used the expression “Mustafa Kemal” and said: “It does not seem right to me to categorize people and concepts and make an element of separation and that I use it in this way because of my habit and that I feel closer. ”

Noting that he was subjected to insults, threats and oaths on social media as a result of the articles in question, Kaftancıoğlu explained his attitude towards Atatürk with the following statements:

“My effort to separate myself from Kenan Evren’s so-called Kemalism may be misunderstood, but our people, especially the CHP members, understand me and my party very well. Against the juntaists who imprison Atatürk in static and frozen interpretations, and confusion in today’s world of ideas, we always look ahead. I will continue to embrace the dynamic Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who emphasizes wisdom, science and the revolutionary. May those who have no production, who think that 83 million will explode feel uncomfortable their common values ​​for centuries, and that they prefer to use Atatürk, not to understand it.

One of the important reasons why Canan Kaftancıoğlu’s expression “Mustafa Kemal” instead of “Atatürk” generated backstage reaction at the CHP is against some of the concepts adopted by the nationalist base within the party. It is recalled that Kaftancıoğlu previously opposed the statement “We are soldiers of Mustafa Kemal” on the grounds that it is a “militaristic” approach and shared “We are the comrades of Mustafa Kemal”, which is also a topic of discussion within the party.

Nationalists within the party criticize Kaftancıoğlu and some party leaders for being close to the liberal and HDP policies, referring to the “December 10 Movement” in which they were part of the past. Names close to Kaftancıoğlu also attribute the broadening of discussion via social media to this approach, and it is argued that the emphasis of “December 10” in Mehmet Ali Çelebi’s message is a sign of this:

“From here, you seem to see the mentality ‘I actually have another ailment, I’ll raise my voice from here.’

The name, the call for former Chalabi DISK President Süleyman, Turkey in a new political style and a left group for the creation of speech, social democratic writers, intellectuals, politicians, representatives of civil society participation of the December 10, 2005 meeting of the area was held “December 10 Movement” is not active today. However, names like Burhan Şenatalar, Kaftancıoğlu, Vice President Oğuz Kaan Salıcı, who are still members of the CHP PM, participated in the movement.

In response to Kaftancıoğlu’s statement on the growth of the debate, some MPs argue that the statement “As I am used to, I use the expression Mustafa Kemal because I am closer” is not satisfactory. A deputy who pointed out that Atatürk is Mustafa Kemal’s last name, shows the reaction: “Then should we not use the last name Kaftancıoğlu, let’s say Canan? Why is Atatürk afraid to use the expression? Because his gaze is problematic.”

According to the information obtained, after the debate grew and many CHP MPs reacted to Kaftancıoğlu from their social media accounts, the party leadership intervened.

According to the information obtained, Kaftancıoğlu gave information to the party administration about the details of the meeting, and that there was no discussion about the use of the expression Mustafa Kemal or Atatürk, since Uluç Gürkan’s written statement on the question of why he did not use the expression Atatürk, “it did not seem correct to categorize and separate the concepts, and habit, he also said that he felt closer that way.

The CHP administration does not intend to initiate any disciplinary action against Kaftancıoğlu on the grounds that “there is no political intention or choice” in the use of Mustafa Kemal’s expression. Stating that such discussion on social media is disturbing and wrong, the headquarters sources express the following opinion:

“Canan Hanım, I feel closer to me like that. She says Mustafa Kemal said about her. Also, when you look at her past statements, she does not use Atatürk at all. There are statements she gave in court, says Mustafa Kemal Atatürk there. Finally, on September 9, 81 provinces. There is a statement made as president of Atatürk, and there is also the expression Atatürk. If I had made a statement like ‘My political preference is to say Mustafa Kemal, because I do not find the right to say it’, of course , then our opinion on this would be different, the party boards would take action. There is no such situation, there is no political debate about Atatürk. Therefore, your explanations are sufficient for us. “

The first statement from the CHP administration on the debate between Kaftancıoğlu and some CHP MPs came from Vice President Oğuz Kaan Salıcı. Salıcı, who made the FMC weekly statement after party spokesman Faik Öztrak’s Covid-19 test was positive, claimed that “there is no Atatürk debate” in the CHP, and that a CHP member has a problem with Atatürk “goes against the nature of things.” he said:

“That is a discussion of Ataturk. The provincial president made a statement. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the CHP. Blessed is the founder of the Republic of Turkey, but also the eternal president of the CHP. With the problem of Atatürk’le CHP It is very normal that there is no one who is hostile to Ataturk or argue about Ataturk, because this is the party that founded Ataturk. To this day, we do not believe that there is a correct debate. No one has a problem with Ataturk, nor is it possible with CHP. It is contrary to the nature of things to have such a situation. “