Deputy Bal says did not resign from AK Party on anyone’s orders


Date posted: January 31, 2014

İSTANBUL

Responding to speculations put forward by circles close to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) that independent Kütahya deputy İdris Bal resigned from the party on an order from Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, Bal has said he did not resign from the party on anyone’s orders, stating that if they could prove this, he is also ready to resign from his post as deputy.

Bal, who was referred to the party’s disciplinary board for expulsion because he opposed the government’s planned closure of prep schools, announced on Nov. 30, 2013, that he had resigned from his party. The circles close to the party speculated that Bal resigned after he was ordered to do so by Gülen.

Harshly rejecting such speculations during a press conference he held in Parliament on Friday, Bal said he resigned because he wanted to do so. “If you can prove this [that he resigned on the order of Gülen], I promise I will resign from my post as a deputy,” he said.

Commenting further on the speculations over his resignation, Bal said: “I have principles. I did not engage in politics to curry favor with anyone. I entered Parliament to be able to represent those who voted for me in the best way possible and to fulfill my duties to my nation, which I love.”

Stating that the AK Party changed its perspective and its style of politics in its third term, Bal said: “Look at the first and second terms of the AK Party and now look at the third term. Those who have fears are democrats. When the AK Party was established in 2002, it embraced everybody. It based its politics on peace. It also had fears. It feared the party would be closed down. The AK Party was afraid of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors [HSYK].” He added that as soon as the AK Party’s fears vanished, the party started to demolish what it had achieved during its first and second terms.

Pointing to the recent polarizing and harsh statements from politicians, Bal said politicians should respect political ethics, adding that politicians should avoid actions that may polarize people. “We as politicians should choose our words carefull

Source: Todays Zaman , January 31, 2014


Related News

EP discusses transparency call for Hizmet

In a letter dated Jan. 20 that was sent to all members of the EP, the Brussels-based Intercultural Dialogue Platform (IDP), whose honorary president is Gülen, stated that it welcomes calls upon the Hizmet movement to improve its transparency and accountability.

EP’s Rebecca Harms Visited Turkish Educator Çabuk In Georgian Prison

Rebecca Harms, a member of the European Parliament and co-president of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly visited Mustafa Emre Çabuk, a Turkish school administrator who was arrested by Georgian authorities last year at the request of the Turkish government, on Thursday according to her post on her Twitter account.

Turks threatened over alleged links to the Gülen movement find a safe haven in Greece

When thousands of Turkish citizens lost their jobs or were jailed over suspected links to the Islamist Gülen movement, they chose self-exile to escape persecution.

What Is Next In Turkey?

The generals were never the script writers of the coups but only players. The script writers of the coup on July 15 in Turkey aimed to simulate a coup as if it was staged by the Gulen movement. It was simply a false flag. While only a few hundred soldiers were involved in the coup, more than ten thousand officers were purged and arrested. While the police officers challenged the coup plotters, twelve thousand police officers were fired two months after the coup.

Arrested After Giving Birth: Turkey’s Post-coup Crackdown Reportedly Hits Maternity Wards

Following the abortive putsch on July 15 2016, allegations of unfair trials, using torture in prisons and holding suspects without trial have been made against Erdogan’s government. And now, it has been alleged that Turkey is arresting women accused of links to the Gülen movement immediately after they give birth.

Powerful but reclusive Turkish cleric – BBC’s interview with Fethullah Gulen

Fethullah Gulen has been called Turkey’s second most powerful man. He is also a recluse, who lives in self-imposed exile in the US.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Leak deepens AKP-Gulen rift

Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) bridging Eastern, Western worlds

The Turkish Connection: Pak-Turk Schools

Misrepresentation of Fethullah Gülen in English-language media

Turkish schools are selected best high schools in Mongolia

Erdoğan calls on US to extradite Gülen in return for jailed US pastor in Turkey

Turkey coup and Fethullah Gülen: Why blame a progressive Islamic modernist?

Copyright 2025 Insightful Neighbor