Nationalist Movement Party
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| Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi Nationalist Movement Party |
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| Leader | Alparslan Türkeş founder (1969-1997) Devlet Bahçeli (1997- ) |
| Founded | 1969 |
| Headquarters | Ceyhun Atıf Kansu Caddesi No:128 Balgat - Ankara, Turkey |
| Political Ideology | conservative, ultra nationalist, fascist |
| European Affiliation | |
| International Affiliation | |
| Colours | White, Red |
| Website | Nationalist Movement Party |
| See also | Constitution of Turkey Turkish Politics |
The Nationalist Movement Party (also translated as 'Nationalist Action Party') (Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi (MHP)), is a far-right nationalist (or fascist) political party in Turkey. The use of the word Hareket (Movement) is similar to Bewegung and Movimento. In the Nov. 3, 2002 legislative elections, the party won 8.3 % of the popular vote and no seats in the parliament.
Although MHP espouses extremist nationalist views, it maintains consistent support among the electorate (especially in Central Anatolia), has always been on good terms with the Turkish Establishment, and many sympathisers hold key offices.
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[edit] History
By 1965, Alparslan Türkeş gained control of the conservative-rural CKMP (Cumhuriyetçi Köylü Millet Partisi ("Republican Villagers Nation Party")), and in a 1969 congress in Adana he confirmed his authoritarian rule and changed the name of the party to MHP. The party has embraced Turkish nationalism imbued with a mythology that suggests all Turks share a common ancestry. Under the leadership of Alparslan Türkeş during the 1970s, militias connected to the party were allegedly responsible for many assassinations of opposition left wing politicians, students and others[citation needed]. Alparslan Türkeş (from the indictment for MHP trials started after the 1980 coup d'état) speaks to the ideology of the party:
- Turks do not have any friend or ally other than other Turks. Turks! turn to your roots. Our words are to those that have Turkish ancestry and are Turks.... Those that have torn down this nation (referring to the Ottoman Empire) are Greek, Armenian and Jew traitors, and Kurdish, Bosnian and Albanians... How can you, as a Turk, tolerate these dirty minorities. Remove from within the Armenians and Kurds and all Turkish enemies. [1]
According to the Turkish journalist Mustafa Akyol, Türkeş once said:
- Today, in East Anatolia there are people who speak an artifical language called Kurdish, but they are not a seperate nation or race. If they were a seperate nation we should stuggle to prevent them to come to positions in the government that represents Turk. We would strongly oppose this. For the future of our government and nation, for the proud and honour of Turk, we would make this struggle. Why did not we do this? Because, these people are pure Turkish people. They can be governor, minister or president as any Turk can.[1]
Human rights experts in Turkey hold the organization responsible for more than 4,000 killings, [citations needed], Turkish leftists, and progressive journalists and union leaders. One of their deadliest acts was the organisation of the anti-Alevi pogrom in Kahramanmaraş in 1978 that left 111 people dead.[2]
When the Turkish army seized power on Sept. 12, 1980 by a coup led by Kenan Evren, the party was banned along with all other active political parties at the time, and many of its leading members were imprisoned. Many prominent members joined neo-liberal Anavatan Partisi or various Islamist currents. The party later was refounded in 1983 as Milliyetçi Çalışma Partisi (Nationalist Task Party) and took its former name again in 1992. After Türkeş's death, under the leadership of Devlet Bahçeli, MHP tried to present itself as a moderate right-wing party. They also began to reach out to practicing Muslims in Turkey (previously they had held them in contempt reciprocated by political Muslims). It was on this issue that the breakaway Büyük Birlik Partisi (Great Union Party) was formed by splitting from the Nationalist Movement Party on a more 'religious' line, fusing ideas from both Turkish nationalism and Islamic doctrine.
[edit] Devlet Bahçeli Term
Under Devlet Bahçeli, the party promised to end the ban on females wearing the hijab at government institutions (most pertinent at universities and a very contentious issue in Turkish politics), the opening of Qur'an schools and its mandatory teaching and a number of other measures that would appeal to Muslims. In 1998, when Abdullah Öcalan was in Italy, MHP supporters were often seen on television burning Kurdish flags and Italian flags, demonstrating allegiance to Turkish nationalism.
At 1999 general elections, held after Öcalan's capture and at a time when nationalist sentiment was high, promising to have Öcalan hanged, they became the second leading party, with about 18% of the national vote, highest in their history. They were later forced into a coalition with the Demokratik Sol Parti (Democratic Left Party) DSP and the Anavatan Partisi (ANAP) by the army and also forced to drop their 'religious' manifesto. They also had a female candidate, Nesrin Ünal, who wore a headscarf and claimed that if they won the elections she would proudly enter parliament with her scarf; however, she declined to wear it when elected deputy of Antalya. The coalition government did not last long (until 2002) and an economic collapse resulted in many losing what faith they had in MHP. In the subsequent elections, the religious AK Parti won by a landslide and MHP failed to gain the necessary 10% to enter parliament.
[edit] See also
- Grey Wolves, youth paramilitary organization of the MHP
- Anti-Armenianism
- Anti-Hellenism
