Turkey’s CHP head urges ‘joint fight’ against terrorism after attacks

“All political parties, civil society organizations, professional chambers and citizens should act together on this issue,” Republican People’s Party (CHP) head Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu told reporters on Aug. 26 in Ankara. 

“While acting together we all of course curse and condemn [these attacks]. We are delivering hopes for the future but I think politics as an institution should come much more to the forefront and play a more active role in resolving these problems,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.  

He was speaking on the day Turkey lost 11 policemen in a car bomb attack in the Cizre province of Şırnak and one day after his motorcade was attacked by outlawed PKK affiliates in Artvin. 

Kılıçdaroğlu and his team survived the ambush but one soldier guarding the convoy was killed and two other soldiers were injured. The military launched a massive operation in Artvin to arrest the perpetrators of the attack. 

A large delegation from the CHP under the leadership of Kılıçdaroğlu joined the funeral of private Fatih Çaybaşı in Erzincan on the afternoon of Aug 26. 

“Turkey does not deserve this kind of pain. Our people do not know what to say. We are at the point where words fail,” he added. 

Along with Kılıçdaroğlu, Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli and politicians from different parties joined Çaybaşı’s funeral. CHP leader and Canikli met with the family of the fallen soldier to express their condolences.    

 
Parliament should work 

Meanwhile, a senior CHP official said parliament should restart its work at a time when the country is facing a tough struggle against terror. 

“We will take necessary steps for the reopening of parliament if it continues to be kept closed,” Özgür Özel, the CHP’s deputy parliamentary group leader said at a press conference on Aug. 26.  

Parliament is due to reopen on Oct. 1 if parties cannot agree on an earlier date, but Özel said developments in the country necessitate the resumption of parliamentary work, citing the Turkish military’s cross-border operation into northern Syria and continued terrorist attacks. 

Despite the Aug. 25 attack on Kılıçdaroğlu, neither the CHP nor its leader will change their already announced programs and will not abandon Turkey’s agenda to the hands of terrorists, Özel stressed. 

“There is no change in our working program. We have not been demoralized and we will keep working together,” he said. 

Özel added that they were still waiting for information from the Interior Minister about details of the attack. 

“We want them to share concrete information and documents about the incident with us, and to shed light on it in a rapid way,” he said.