Gül Stresses Support For Parliamentary Over Presidential System Of Gov't

Turkey's 11th president, Abdullah Gül, delivered a speech at British think tank Chatham House on Wednesday and emphasized his support for a parliamentary system of government rather than a presidential one.

During the conference, Gül, who this year was replaced as president by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was asked: "You served as the Turkish president for seven years. Do you think Turkey needs a more powerful presidential post?" The question was referring to President Erdoğan's moves to boost the "executive power" of the post.

In response, Gül said: "Everybody knows that I consider a parliamentary regime to be more convenient [for Turkey], but of course you cannot say a presidential system of government is not democratic. What matters is the system of checks and balances. Can you say the US is not democratic? Its state bodies function properly. As long as democracy is preserved, it is up to the people to choose a presidential government or parliamentarian regime."

Gül, who was presented the Chatham House Award in 2010, responded to questions from Chatham House Director Robin Niblett and other participants at the event. In response to a question regarding developments over recent years in Turkey's region, Gül commented that the region has become unstable. The former president added that the overthrown leader of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, had been the only threat in the region during the years of the Gulf War. However, now there are many more problems, he said.

The former Turkish president also expressed his appreciation for Britain, France and several other European countries for their recent recognition of the Palestinian state.

Commenting on the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Gül said that the issue is not only between Turkey and Syria but concerns the region and all of humanity.

With regards to the tense relations as of late between Egypt and Turkey, Gül said that tension is temporary, emphasizing that Egyptians and Turks are brothers.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)