Roundup: Turkish ruling AKP sows discords on key issues

The war of words between Turkish president and the government over allegations of interference into Kurdish peace process signal growing rift in Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), analysts said.

"There is a determination in AKP against the president," Mustafa Unal, Ankara-based analyst and a long-time observer of Turkish politics, said.

Unal said Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesman Bulent Arinc's harsh remarks criticizing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday reflected the overall government position against the president.

Arinc said the president's statements that appear to be critical of government's actions undermine the government.

"It would be better if he expresses his opinions directly to the prime minister," Arinc told reporters, adding that he does not find president's publicly expressing his views about the government policies "appropriate."

On Friday, Erdogan said he was opposed to building a monitoring committee to observe a process of settlement with the Kurds and claimed he was not informed in advance of the government decision.

However, Arinc said the president was fully informed of the settlement process and emphasized the government is ready to brief him whenever he desires.

The Turkish president responded to Arinc late on Saturday in a public rally, saying that he cannot stay outside of the politics.

"Doesn't a president have something to say on politics? They (critics) are looking for a wall flower suitable for them. I am not a wall flower as a president," he said in the province of Denizli in western Turkey.

However, the government does not appear to be backing down on the confrontation with the president.

On Sunday, Arinc stood by his earlier remarks, noting that the governing AKP is heading for national elections in June, not the president.

He said the president should not publicly criticize the government which makes the government appear weak in public eye.

Can Dundar, another Turkish analyst, believed that Erdogan has realized that the ruling AKP is losing votes because of the settlement talks with Kurds.

He also pointed out that Erdogan may be deliberately provoking a clash with the government to gain support for his wish to see Turkey to switch presidential system from parliamentary democracy.

"If that is the case, he (Erdogan) is playing a very dangerous game," Dundar said, warning that the settlement talks may be at risk of a collapse.

The Turkish government is very much at unease about the spark of new clashes in Turkey's southeast where predominantly Kurds live. It does not want to jeopardize the process on the eve of elections, Dundar said.

Turkey has been governed by a parliamentary democracy in the republican government where the president remains a mostly symbolic figure as the head of the state.

Yet, Erdogan, former prime minister and the former chairman of the ruling AKP, is a powerful leader and has been known for interfering into the government businesses in contrast to his predecessors.

Turkey's opposition parties accuse Erdogan of violating the constitution, which requires the president to remain neutral and impartial. They say president has been holding rallies across the country to ask for a vote for his former party.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party CHP, accused the president of putting aside his honor by acting in a biased way.

"How in the world can this person (Erdogan) ask for votes on behalf of a political party?" Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party MHP, the third largest political party in Turkey, has recently said.

Yet Erdogan does not seem to be deterred by criticism both from the opposition and the ruling party.

Several times in the past, Erdogan has publicly rebuked the government led by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

The most recent confrontation before Saturday happened over the resignation of the National Intelligence Agency MIT head Hakan Fidan to run for the parliament.

After the president's public criticism on his nomination which was endorsed by the government, Fidan had to withdraw his candidacy.

The prime minister and the president have different opinions on various issues in the past year such as recently unveiled transparency package by the government, the controversial takeover of the management at the largest Islamic lender bank Bank Asya and foreign policy matters. Endit