Main opposition CHP chief vows to resolve Kurdish question

ANKARA

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has vowed to resolve the Kurdish question by abandoning politics over faith, identity and lifestyles.

“The second article of the manifesto distributed to you is about the resolution of the Kurdish question. We are no longer obliged to endure the pain. Every solution has been proposed in this regard. I just want you to trust me. I will resolve it,” Kılıçdaroğlu told opinion leaders on his visit to the southeastern province of Van on Aug 12.

Kılıçdaroğlu paid a visit to the region on Aug. 11 and 12 and met with local authorities and citizens in the southeastern province.

“Van is an important city for the east and southeast. It has an extraordinarily beautiful nature. A special care should be pledged to this region by passing special laws [in parliament] and encouraging people to come and live here,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.

The government should invest in this region instead of constructing Canal Istanbul, a project aiming to create an artificial channel linking the Marmara Sea to the Black Sea, Kılıçdaroğlu stated.

The social democrat leader also vowed to end “racism” in Turkey. “Everyone’s identity is their own dignity. I will finish politics over faith, identity and lifestyle.”

In a self-criticism, Kılıçdaroğlu admitted that the CHP had pursued wrongful policies in the past by breaking away from the people. “But we changed this. The party that has changed the most in the last 10 years is the CHP,” he stressed.

The CHP’s manifesto stipulates lifting all the political, social and economic restrictions that limit the individuals’ rights and freedoms, Kılıçdaroğlu stated, promising to expand all these problems once they come to power.