AKP Closure: What Do the People Think?

Following the request by the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals to the Constitutional Court to close down the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), bianet wanted to find out what people in the street think.

Some asked, “Who is democracy for?”, others complained that the party should be closed but that no one would be able to. There were those who are against the AKP but also oppose the closure of parties on principle.

Those supporting the AKP said that “there is no better party at the moment.”

Turay Özay, self-employed: I am a social democrat, but I oppose the closure of any party. I support democracy, freedom and laicism. But this does not mean that there are no limits to behaviour. Laicism is being discussed now, but freedoms are limited. 

Musician Hakan (24): I did not catch the reason for the request, but I can guess that it is “reactionary attitudes.” I want the party to close, I don’t think anything good about the AKP. Compared to ruling parties in the past, they were doing it secretly. This party is announcing it. And they have organised their structures so well that the people don’t oppose them.

Musician Sinan (28): First we must define democracy. What is democracy?  Who does it belong to? Is it the AKP’s democracy?
Hatice (23): I think it should be closed. But it won’t be closed just by me or others saying it. Whatever anyone says, it will not be closed.

A man in his fifties who preferred to stay anonymous: We want it to be closed. We have not had any benefits from this party. It is murdering people.

Locksmith Nafi Ülker: It is not good that the closure issue has become news. It was bad timing. The country has got dozens of other problems, the greatest being unemployment.

A retired woman who preferred to remain anonymous: I don’t have an opinion, what should I think? Whoever brings something good should be in power. They are not doing anything good by closing the party. All the people are behind Tayyip (Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan). We are not doing too badly at the moment. This is as much as I can grasp.

Melih Aksay, a newspaper distributor: Really good, let them close it.  I oppose the AKP. It does not believe in laicism, it damages universities and opposes Kemalism. They’re just being stubborn. Where did the headscarf issue come from? Instead of becoming a civilised country, we are going backwards. They have also not brought any economic benefits to our state and people.

Davut, a street seller: Why do they want to close the AKP? They say that they are supporting the schools of Fethullah Gülen (a prominent leader of a religious sect in Turkey). If they are stopping them because they are supporting education, then that means you can’t do anything useful for this country. The AKP came to power during a crisis. For the last five to six years they have not done badly. Someone is trying to make a profit out of closing them. The AKP has also made mistakes. They should not have touched the pensions, and they should not make retirement later. They should have listened to the opposition. There are rises in the prices of electricity and petrol, and everyone is angry, but for a long time there were no rises. If there were elections today, I would vote for them again. Why? There is no one better.

A woman aged 34: What nonsense! How can they close the party when the US is behind it? They should not have increased the price of bread. Anyway, I will eat brown bread now, it is cheap (laughing). (EZÖ/AG)