CHP Maintains Its Argument That MİT Is Trying To Divide Party

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has maintained its claim that a unit was formed inside the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) in order to create dissent within the party.

CHP İstanbul deputy Mahmut Tanal on Monday accused MİT of acting together with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in plotting against the CHP. This came after CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu likened MİT to the Gestapo, Nazi Germany's secret police, for its alleged plot against the CHP.

Tanal alleged that residences and offices belonging to CHP deputies are under MİT surveillance, asking: “Did the MİT undersecretary [Hakan Fidan] invite any deputies from the opposition parties in addition to the members of the ruling party to his son's wedding? Even this single incident is enough to prove the idea that MİT is acting in coordination with the ruling party.”

Having held a press conference in Parliament, Tanal was reminded about his parliamentary question about the claims of MİT's alleged operations targeting CHP deputies, such as wiretapping their homes, offices and mobile phones, and he responded by saying: “I submitted several question to the Parliament Speaker's Office related to the issue. All phone conversations and computers we are using are being used to gather and filter information by a data processing system in Parliament. When I asked why our personal correspondence is tracked, an official could not respond, and he had to retire from his post because he gave me some information about the functioning of the system.”

Kılıçdaroğlu had accused MİT of carrying out an operation to create dissent within the CHP and likened MİT to the Gestapo. The party leader accused MİT of serving the AK Party.

"As you know, MİT was formed in compliance with the law. The Gestapo was also established by a law. What was the Gestapo's main function? To serve the German government rather than the state. I just want MİT to act in accordance with the definition of 'national' and to serve the state rather than intervene in a political party's internal debates and operations. It should not attempt to tamper with the CHP on instructions from the ruling party," Kılıçdaroğlu said.

In comments to the Hürriyet daily last week Kılıçdaroğlu said the AK Party is plotting against the CHP, with a group in existence within MİT whose aim is to undermine the CHP's image as a party representing all of society and to create friction within the party, asserting that the AK Party is governing a “deep state” of its own.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)