Main opposition leader calls on Turkish PM to apologize people

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

DHA Photo

The main opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu today called on the prime minister to apologize to people for the excessive use of force against demonstrators who protested against the demolition of Taksim Gezi Park, to be replaced with a shopping mall.

“One cannot rule against the people. People are the strongest force. [Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan] must apologize to the people. I am waiting for that but I don’t know if he will show this merit,” Kılıçdaroğluı told reporters today.

The main opposition leader also said that his visit to the demonstrations was not an opportunist attempt. “I went there as a civilian citizen, to support the demonstrators. This demonstration is not [Republican People’s Party] CHP’s. It is the people’s protest. We didn’t take our party flags,” said Kılıçdaroğlu.

Meanwhile, Kılıçdaroğlu also condemned any violent action against members of the media. He said that he also believed that the media did had not produced good coverage of the protests, adding that it was not media members but the media bosses who were to blame.