Speaking at a commemoration meeting for the 86th anniversary of the death of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, “If Gazi had lived 10 more years, we would have seen a different Turkey.”.
There have been different interpretations as to why Erdoğan, whose past statements have given the impression that he does not like Atatürk, used such an expression.
One of the interesting allegations on this issue came yesterday from Cemal Enginyurt, a member of parliament for the Democratic Party in Ordu.
In his post on his Twitter account, Enginyurt said, “Erdoğan is setting up a new game. When he says that he wishes Atatürk had lived 10 more years, he is making enemies of İsmet İnönü. Let's be vigilant. Let's not forget the one who said ‘two drunkards’.”.
“They want to settle scores with the republic”
When we called Enginyurt about his post, Enginyurt stated that Erdoğan wants to demonize and discredit the republic and said, “Since he knows that he would get a reaction if he were to directly denigrate Atatürk, he denigrates the İsmet İnönü era by saying ’if he had lived 10 more years’. In this way, he again wants to discredit the CHP period. Their problem is to settle accounts with the republic. Erdoğan wants to replace Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, he wants to be Atatürk.”.
“Erdoğan is hostile to CHP”
Reminding that Erdoğan constantly targeted İsmet İnönü, Enginyurt said, “İnönü, whom you targeted, did not take Turkey into World War II, where it would have suffered great destruction. I guess they are angry because they wonder why he did not take Turkey into the war. Turkey had no foreign debt during İnönü's period. The dollar was below one lira. While Erdoğan is openly hostile to the republic and the CHP, the current chairman of the CHP is seeking normalization with him.”.