Demirel responds to Abdullah Gul's criticisms

President Suleyman Demirel responded to FP Kayseri Deputy Abdullah
Gul's criticisms about him, " One's eyes and conscience ought to be closed
to slander my 35 years of service to this country." Here is Mr.Demirel's
statement about Abdullah Gul's criticisms:

       " FP Deputy Abdullah Gul's article on Milliyet newspaper's issue on
       December 29th, 1999, is an example of ignorance and political slander. To
       assign the head of the Higher Education Board is the President's
       responsibility. What is more Abdullah Gul can not talk for the whole public
       or the Parliament. The decisions National Security Council had taken on
       February 28th, 1997, had also been signed by his party's General Chairman at
       the time. If Mr.Gul calls the February 28th decisions an interference, then
       why did they have been signed and carried out?. One's eyes and conscience
       ought to be closed to be able to slander my 35 years of service to this
       country. I do not want to create a political polemic. I just want the
       mistakes and injustices to be corrected." Mr.Gul had criticised Suleyman
       Demirel for assigning Kemal Guruz as the head of the Higher Education Board
       and for the decisions of February 28th. He had claimed that Suleyman Demirel
       had lost the support he had from the Parliament to be able to be elected
       again for the Presidency. Here is how Gul had ended his article: " Suleyman
       Demirel will be mentioned in the history of the Turkish political life as
       the person who stayed in politics for the longest time and as a politician
       who could win back the offices he had lost instead of as a person to have
       led Turkey to better days. This is why I wonder whether Mr.Demirel will be
       shown the love and interest shown to Turgut Ozal after his death?"