Main opposition CHP to march to Taksim

ISTANBUL

Main opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu announced ahead of traveling to Istanbul that all CHP deputies will march to Taksim. AA photo

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) will gather in Beşiktaş before marching to nearby Taksim Gezi Park, canceling a scheduled meeting in Kadıköy on the Asian side of Istanbul, broadcaster NTV said today.

CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is also set to attend the meeting, which is expected to attract a large crowd upon the party's call last week. "All of our friends and all of our deputies will be in Taksim," he said.

Meanwhile, Kılıçdaroğlu said Turkey did not want to experience the "Germany of the 1940s in 2013," while responding to journalists in Ankara ahead of traveling to Istanbul. "We want democracy and freedom in our country. But Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's power is not enough to restrict freedoms and democracy," he said.

A day earlier, Kılıçdaroğlu had called on Erdoğan to take responsibility for ordering the withdrawal of the police from Istanbul's Taksim area. However, in his speech today Erdoğan merely requested that the demonstrators end their protest.