Turkey's main opposition deputy chair apologies for Alevi killings in 1938

ANKARA

Main opposition CHP Deputy Chair Sezgin Tanrıkulu.

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Chair Sezgin Tanrıkulu has apologized for the massacre in Dersim, now called Tunceli, in 1938, in which over 13,000 people were killed during a military operation to quash a Kurdish tribal rebellion during the CHP’s single-party rule.

“I apologize a thousand times for every single person who died, every person who was exiled, every person who suffered,” Tanrıkulu said late on Nov. 12 in a televised interview.

“I apologize [in the name of] the CHP as well, but is that all for the case? Is the case dropped with an apology from the CHP?” he also said, adding that the incident should be more broadly discussed in Turkey.

“Let’s say the CHP has apologized, is the case dropped with regards to Turkey? Will we not talk about the incident anymore?” he asked.

“The prime minister says they will apologize if necessary,” Tanrıkulu said, criticizing former Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s “political moves” on the issue.

“If the case is about the future of the republic, then this is an issue for all [in Turkey],” he added.