CHP vows to break 'Turkey’s ill fate' through building social unity

ANKARA

Turkey has to reconcile in order to heal the wounds of the past and to create a stable future for the next generations, the main opposition leader has said, reiterating his call for making peace between the rival social and political groups in the country, including conservatives, Kurds and religious minorities. 

“We will have to reconcile. My objective is not solely to come to power but to leave a mark in the history by creating this atmosphere for the future,” Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said in an address to his lawmakers on Nov. 16. 

Kılıçdaroğlu, in a video message during the weekend, had underlined the need for the reconciliation between rival political and social groups in a bid to secure social unity for the future generations. 

Turkey has still bleeding wounds from the past, and it is not always easy to discuss them, Kılıçdaroğlu said, adding, “But we should do this for our kids. They should not live what we have experienced.” 

The wounds include those conservative groups, leftists, rightists and human rights activists who have suffered at the hands of the previous governments, Kılıçdaroğlu stressed, adding, “But this reconciliation should not mean that those who have committed crimes will walk away. Legal processes and reconciliation are different things.”