Main opposition CHP deputy faces inquiry

ANKARA-Anadolu Agency

Turkish prosecutors on Oct. 14 began an inquiry into an opposition deputy accused of denigrating the Republic of Turkey in the middle of an anti-terrorist operation in Syria, said a judicial source.

Sezgin Tanrıkulu, Istanbul deputy of the Republican People's Party (CHP), is being investigated by prosecutors in the capital Ankara for his comments about Operation Peace Spring, said the source on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Turkey on Oct. 9 launched Operation Peace Spring to eliminate terrorists from northern Syria in order to secure Turkey’s borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees, and ensure Syria’s territorial integrity.

Ankara wants to clear northern Syria east of the Euphrates River of the terrorist PKK and its Syrian offshoot, the PYD/YPG.

Turkey deems the YPG the Syrian offshoot of the illegal PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization also by the United States and the EU.

In a tweet on Oct.12 as well as an interview, Tanrıkulu reportedly called the operation “unjust,” claiming that it is “against the Kurds.”

Turkish officials have stressed that the operation is meant to protect all the people of northern Syria -- Arabs, Kurds, Ezidis, Chaldeans -- from the oppression of the terrorist PYD/YPG.