“Without Erdoğan, AKP Is Nothing in Rize”

We interviewed in Rize province (in North-East of Turkey, on the Eastern Black Sea coast) with Kenan Bıyık, deputy candidate from Republican People’s Party (CHP) and Cem Kazmaz, deputy candidate from Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) before the June 7 parliamentary elections.

Bıyık stressed it was hard to do politics in Rize and stated people in Rize admired Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Even though AKP didn’t make any prominent investment in Rize, AKP took most of the votes in the city according to the deputy.

What has changed since 2011?

“The most critical problem in Rize is the smuggled tea. Amount of smuggled tea has increased for 13 years. Minimum price for tea decreased and so does the income of most of the population.

“You don’t get harmed from the rich”

“You cannot tell the palaces, official cars, luxury, pomp and vanity to people in Rize. If you do so, you lose votes. They think ‘You don’t get harmed from the rich.’ When you tell them the trading ships of Eroğan’s sons they say ‘Well, how nice!’”

“AKP is nothing without Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.”

 “No votes for HDP”

“Kurds in Rize don’t lean to Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP). People here don’t vote for HDP in order to let it to pass the election threshold.

Cem Kazmaz from MHP: “Rize is a nationalist and conservative city. I think we will take the votes instead of AKP.

 “Public meetings of Devlet Bahçeli, Head of MHP, was more crowded than PM Davutoğlu’s meetings in here.

“Tea must be taken under protection”

“AKP harms the economy of Rize. They want to finish off the agriculture in Turkey, an agricultural counrty. People in Rize migrate to suburbia and lose their economic freedoms. AKP takes advantage of it and pick up the votes.

 “In this beautiful country, nothing grows but tea. Tea holds 2 billion USD as market share in Turkey. Rize holds the most important part. A million people earn their keep from tea. Tea, a strategically important product must be taken under protection by law.” (EKN/BD)

 Click here to read this article in Turkish