Turkey's main opposition files criminal complaint against president, gov't for 'aiding terror'

The main opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP) has filed a criminal complaint into President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu, National Intelligence Organization (M?T) Chief Hakan Fidan and other senior officials, on charges of "aiding and abetting a terrorist organization." The complaint relates to their involvement the long-stalled peace process aimed at ending the three-decade long conflict between Turkey's security forces and militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). 

CHP Deputy Chair Bülent Tezcan filed the complaints about Erdo?an, Davuto?lu, Fidan, Deputy Prime Minister Yalç?n Akdo?an, Interior Minister Efkan Ala, former Deputy Prime Minister Be?ir Atalay, related state officials and provincial governors to the Ankara Chief Prosecutor's Office on March 8.

Tezcan's move followed CHP leader Kemal K?l?çdaro?lu's remarks accusing the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of aiding a terrorist organization by "overlooking the stockpiling of weapons by the PKK" throughout the peace process. Provincial chairs of the CHP are also expected to file similar complaints shortly. 

In his complaint, Tezcan claimed that since 2009 the AKP has followed a strategy simply based on encouraging the PKK toward non-conflict during election periods rather than trying to resolve the Kurdish issue sustainably.

"More fatally, just in order to go through election periods calmly, the terrorist organization's activities of transferring and piling up weaponry, both in rural areas and in urban centers, were openly overlooked," he said, recalling that only eight of 290 requests to conduct anti-terror operations by the Turkish Armed Forces received a positive response from governors during the period.