Former CHP head Deniz Baykal in critical condition after third surgery
ANKARA
Deniz Baykal, the former leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), remains in a critical condition in intensive care following a third surgical operation on Oct. 18.
“The doctors have told us is that he is still in a medically induced coma, which helps the brain rest. This lasts for 72 hours, three days ... Hopefully he will have recovered by the end of this procedure. We are continuously monitoring his treatment,” Health Minister Ahmet Demircan told reporters in Ankara on Oct. 18.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç, former Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Şenel, as well as numerous other current and former politicians from the CHP, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) have visited the hospital to wish Baykal a speedy recovery.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reportedly visited the hospital on Oct. 16, meeting Baykal’s son Ataç Baykal and his daughter Aslı Baykal Ataman.
Erdoğan was accompanied by Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın during the 20-minute visit, during which they wished Baykal a speedy recovery.
Upon the president’s instruction, prominent brain surgeon Uğur Türe was sent to Ankara to check on Baykal.
Baykal was taken to hospital early on Oct. 16 over a blood clot in a major artery going to his brain. He then underwent three operations at Ankara University’s İbn-i Sina Hospital on Oct. 16 and Oct. 17.
Following the third operation, Ankara University Rector Ercan İbiş said there had been some “negativities,” while the CHP issued a statement saying that rumors of Baykal’s death were “unfounded.”
A fixture in the Turkish political scene for over 40 years, Baykal has served in cabinets as deputy prime minister and as a minister in numerous cabinets. He also served as a leader of the CHP for 17 years in total, leaving the post for the last time in 2010.
