Shadow Rapporteur: Calling Dec. 17 A Coup Absolutely Ridiculous

A veteran member of the European Parliament (EP) from the Christian Democrats has said the Turkish government's characterization of the Dec. 17 corruption charges as an attempted coup d'état is "absolutely ridiculous."

Renate Sommer, the Christian Democrat shadow rapporteur on Turkey, was unequivocal in underlining that the corruption charges of last December, which shook the country and led to the resignation of four ministers, have not been properly investigated.

Speaking on the program "European Desk," hosted by Zaman's Brussels representative Selçuk Gültaşlı on the Samanyolu Haber TV channel, Sommer said the government's theory explaining corruption allegations as an attempted judicial coup d'état was "absolutely not convincing and very ridiculous."

"It sounds very ridiculous. Where is the proof for that? It is easy always to accuse others for your own mistakes. Politicians always say, 'We are wonderful people, we have white jackets. But the others try to work against the government.' To me it sounds ridiculous," Sommer said.

Sommer, who has also been a member of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee since 1999, is well-known for her strong opposition to Turkey's membership in the EU. Her critics say she is against Turkey rather than Turkish membership.

When asked about the criticism, Sommer said there was no way she could be against Turkey, but that she had strongly criticized the current government and its policies. The German politician said she liked Turkey and its people.

"I am critical [of] the Turkish government. I have nothing against the country. On the contrary, I like Turkey as a country and its people. Very friendly people. Why would I be against the country? But it is true that I have problems with the government because it is taking the country backwards and far away from the EU, instead of [going] the other way," said she.

Sommer said she could not be against the membership of Turkey as the country fulfills all the criteria, but added that it was very unlikely.

"My personal position is that it seems impossible to make Turkey a member [in] the next years because this government does not really want to join [the] political European Union and does not want to share European values," she said.

Turked headed for some sort of dictatorship

Sommer roundly condemned the practices of the government in comments about the state of media freedoms. She claimed Turkey was heading to some sort of dictatorship under the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government.

When asked whether the term "dictatorship" was too strong, she agreed. "It is probably a little bit too strong. But it is heading [in] that direction. That is my impression," she said.

The Christian Democrats have been the largest political group in the EP for years. In the most recent elections in May and June, the group once again became the largest, with 221 members out of 751.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)