Bahçeli condemns CHP over protests
ANKARA
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has strongly condemned the Republican People’s Party (CHP), accusing them of aligning with "marginal and illegal leftist groups" in what he called a "provocation" aimed at undermining the country.
In a fiery statement posted on his social media account, Bahçeli targeted the CHP and other opposition factions over recent protests in Istanbul’s Saraçhane district, where demonstrators clashed with police.
"The CHP, along with marginal parties and unlawful leftist groups, has taken a stance no different from that of Türkiye’s enemies in their ambitions, actions, and rhetoric," Bahçeli said. "Türkiye will not fall for these murky tricks."
He dismissed the protests as acts of "vandalism," accusing opposition figures of "detaching from reality" by framing the unrest as a "democracy vigil."
Bahçeli claimed the protests were a "sudden conspiracy" orchestrated to disrupt Türkiye’s rising global prestige. He alleged that those behind the demonstrations were "collaborators serving foreign interests" and "enemies of Türkiye."
"The masked attackers who threw stones, axes, and acid at our police have no connection to democracy, law, or freedom," he stated.
The MHP leader also referenced historical tensions, criticizing protesters who allegedly vandalized the Şehzadebaşı Mosque and its courtyard. "Those who say 'the oppression began in 1453' are nothing but a handful of spies and urban bandits," he said, alluding to the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople.
Bahçeli demanded justice for what he described as the "organized corruption" and misuse of municipal resources by opposition-led local governments.
"Those who defile mosques, promote destruction as democracy, and squander public funds through bribery and theft must be held accountable before history and the law," he declared.
