01 February 2019•Update: 01 February 2019
By Emin Ileri and Cigdem Alyanak
ISTANBUL
Decrying calls for the Venezuelan army to support a coup bid, Turkey’s ruling party spokesman on Friday said a call instead for transparent elections with high turnout would be more useful to solve the ongoing crisis.
Omer Celik, spokesman for the Justice and Development (AK) Party, blasted Western countries' inconsistencies on the crisis in Venezuela, saying, "You call for democracy all over the world ... and assign an interim president for another country," referring to the recognition of Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president.
"If you want to do Venezuela a favor, you can say this; hold elections, increase turnout, make the system more transparent, grow the economy, and make other social groups heard," Celik told news channel NTV.
Celik said the European Parliament -- "once seen as the school of democracy" -- recognizing Guaido was also disappointing.
"Now it became the place which signs onto all antidemocratic moves," Celik said, mentioning how it took the EP president three months to visit Turkey after the 2016 defeated coup.
Venezuela has been rocked by protests since Jan. 10 when President Nicolas Maduro was sworn in for a second term following a vote boycotted by the opposition.
Tension climbed on Jan. 23 when Guaido declared himself interim president.
Among those recognizing Guaido’s claim are the U.S. and most Latin American nations, while Bolivia and Mexico continue to recognize Maduro.
Russia, China, and Iran also support Maduro, as does Turkey.
Jamal Khashoggi killing
About the visit this week of Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, to look into the killing in Istanbul of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Celik said an international investigation of the murder is needed.
"We see that some countries are trying to make the issue forgotten over time," Celik said.
He said a Saudi prosecutor visited Turkey last year not to cooperate but to check what evidence Turkey had so they could take counter-measures.
"We don't want to accuse anyone, but we will not allow this matter to be covered up. We’re here putting all of our efforts into an international investigation and urge the whole world to join it," Celik said.
Khashoggi, a contributor to The Washington Post, was killed at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.
After producing various contradictory explanations, Riyadh acknowledged he was killed inside the consulate building, blaming the act on a botched rendition operation.
Turkey has sought the extradition of the Saudi citizens involved in the killing as well as a fuller accounting of the killing from Riyadh.
