Turkey's nationalist party won't support main opposition's motions regardless of content

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The leader of Turkey's Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has said that it's impossible for the party to back motions submitted by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) regardless of their content.

"As the MHP, it's impossible for us to support motions brought to parliament by the CHP regardless of what they are about," MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli told reporters on Feb. 1, as he commented on a motion submitted by the CHP to declare the eastern province of Elazığ a disaster area following a powerful and deadly earthquake.

"The CHP thinks that being against everything and everyone is making politics and opposition. It's attitude towards the earthquakes that took place in Elazığ and [the eastern province of] Malatya are not different from that," Bahçeli also said.

A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Elazığ late on Jan. 24, with the neighboring province of Malatya also getting affected. A total of 41 people died and over 1,600 others were wounded in the two provinces.

Following the earthquake that led to the collapse of thousands of buildings and that forced people to live in tents that are not suitable for winter conditions, CHP leader Kemal Kılıçaroğlu said that Elazığ must be declared a disaster area "in a humanitarian move instead of a political one."

Kılıçdaroğlu also said that if the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) submits the same motion, the CHP would back it.

"If you're saying, 'Don't give that motion, we will submit it as the AKP,' you may and we will support it," he said, as he slammed the government for not being transparent on where the earthquake taxes were spent.

When asked about Kılıçdaroğlu's remarks, Bahçeli, whose party is the AKP's ally, accused the CHP leader of adopting a discriminatory stance.

"The CHP uses a language that infuses pessimism, darkness and hopelessness," Bahçeli said.