CHP should apologize for alcohol-drinking members at Gallipoli ‘justice congress’: Culture minister

ÇANAKKALE

AA photo

Culture Minister Numan Kurtulmuş has said the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) should “publicly apologize to the nation” over party members who consumed alcohol during its recent “justice congress” at the historic site of the Battle of Gallipoli.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to the site in the western province of Çanakkale on Aug. 29, Kurtulmuş said images showing some party members consuming alcohol at the historic venue were “extremely disturbing” for the spirit of the martyrs and citizens.

“We demand that distinguished administrators of the CHP run investigations into their own party and disciplinary mechanisms about all those responsible for this issue. In addition, only disciplinary investigations are not enough. What we expect from the CHP as the nation is that they should publicly apologize to the nation over the ugly images that have emerged,” he added.

“We hope the CHP will apologize as soon as possible and do what is necessary to recover from this ugly scene that has deeply disturbed our nation,” Kurtulmuş added, stressing that the party had failed to obey the rules of the congress previously negotiated with officials at the historic site.

CHP spokesperson Bülent Tezcan had issued a written statement on Aug. 27 that an expulsion process had begun for three party members determined to have drunk alcohol at the historic site.

“Three people determined to have consumed alcohol were immediately taken from the campsite and banned from reentering the site. Their expulsion process from the party has also begun, and their names will be reported to the authorized institutions from tomorrow [Aug. 28],” Tezcan stated. 

The four-day congress, which came after the party’s 450-day “justice march” from the capital Ankara to Istanbul, was concluded on Aug. 29. 

It brought together more than 700 speakers in eight main panels on justice in courts, everyday life, education, religion, the media, elections, and the economy.