CHP leader vows to ‘establish peace’ in Mid East if elected

ANKARA

The joint presidential candidate of the opposition, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, has reiterated his objective of establishing the “Organization of Peace and Cooperation in the Middle East” if he comes to power in the May polls, stressing that there is no reason why Türkiye, Iran, Iraq and Syria can’t live together in peace.

“One can resolve all the problems once peace and social solidarity prevail,” Kılıçdaroğlu, leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), said at an iftar dinner hosted by Felicity Party (SP) leader Temel Karamollaoğlu for the ambassadors of the Islamic countries represented in Ankara late on April 10.

“We have decided to establish the Organization of Peace and Cooperation in the Middle East. Why can’t Türkiye, Iran, Iraq and Syria come together?” Kılıçdaroğlu said in his address to the ambassadors.

Kılıçdaroğlu questioned the divergence of opinions between the regional actors when it comes to resolving the problems of the region.

“The problems can perfectly be resolved. We can surely come together and exert a special effort to at least mitigate the pains of the people. We can do all these,” he said.

Kılıçdaroğlu is running for the president on May 14 polls against incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Any contender needs to garner at least 50 percent plus one vote to be elected in the first round. Otherwise, the two top candidates of the first round will run for the run-off polls on May 28.

One of the most important problems of the Muslim world is the abandoning of science and knowledge, as it was the Islamic pioneers of the past centuries that had established the ground for scientific advancements in the world from sociology to mathematics, Kılıçdaroğlu recalled.

“A society starts to rot when it abandons science, knowledge and justice. We should stop this erosion. We have to work together for the peace of the Islamic world,” he said, stressing that it is always Muslims, especially in the Middle East, who suffer from conflicts.

“We have a common objective for the Middle East, whose fate has always been full of pain, blood and tears. Why? There is a big richness under the soil, but these resources turn into a source of a disaster for these countries. This must be solved,” he noted.

Support for Palestinians

Recalling that Karamollaoğlu, in his address to the ambassadors, mentioned the ongoing attacks against Palestinians by the Israeli security forces, Kılıçdaroğlu underlined the situation ahs been continuing for ages.

“There are people whose rights are violated,” he said.

“We have to stand with the people of Palestinians as we vow to stand with those who are right in their causes.”