CHP leader meets deputy freed by PKK

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

Hüseyin Aygün was kidnapped by two PKK militants on Aug 12 as he was returning from a visit to the Ovacık district in the eastern province of Tunceli. DHA photo

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), has finally conducted a long-delayed meeting with Hüseyin Aygün, a CHP deputy for Tunceli whose remarks about his short kidnapping last month sparked controversy both inside his own party and among other political parties.

The meeting was planned immediately after Aygün was released on Aug. 14, 48 hours after his kidnapping by members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), but the pair was unable to meet due to time commitments. Kılıçdaroğlu and Aygün met in a tête-à-tête session yesterday that lasted nearly 30 minutes. No statement was made after the meeting.

Aygün’s depiction of the incident, in which he described the militants who kidnapped him as youngsters, stirred a reaction even within his own party, leading some colleagues to call for resignation.

Kılıçdaroğlu, however, publicly defended Aygün after the remarks, saying he would remain a member of the CHP.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently said he did not believe that Aygün was kidnapped but instead went with the PKK members willingly as part of a conspiracy. Local prosecutors have launched a probe into the incident.

Aygün was kidnapped by two PKK militants on Aug. 12 as he was returning from a visit to the Ovacık district in the eastern province of Tunceli. He was released on Aug. 14. Aygün said he had been “treated with respect” by the PKK members, speaking to reporters in Tunceli after his release.