Turkish deputy PM defends democratization package

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc has defended the democratization package against opposition parties’ accusation that the package is the terrorist organization PKK’s victory. Arinc said Wednesday that the first government formed by Justice and Development (AK) Party in 2002 lifted state of emergency which continued for 20 years in southeast area after 12 days it came into power. Arinc stated in a press conference that AK Party has taken many steps to enlarge the sphere of freedom in the last 11 years and added, “This step does not have a close link with terror.” He also noted the package includes about 20 articles and it is not his responsibility to declare them one by one, and reminded that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will explain the package content on 30 September to inform the public and to trigger discussions. “We know what we are doing. The package has nothing to do with PKK or Imrali or solution process. Portraying the package as the success of PKK is nothing but tactless,” he said in Bursa. Saying that they are doing an important job, Arinc underlined democratization is a process and they are following that process. Although there are many speculations about the content of the package, the government keeps its silence on the details and avoided to speak about it. Deputy Prime Minister Arinc hinted two weeks ago that there will be steps regarding the hate speech. Opposition parties tried to portray the package as a step towards a concession against PKK withdrawal. However, the government insisted that the content is not only covering the Kurdish issue but much wider issues.