Main opposition deputy head quits following comment on peace process

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet

Gülseren Onanç was seen as part of CHP's 'reformist' wing. AA photo

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy chair Gülseren Onanç, who had said that the party base supported the ongoing peace process 65 percent resigned from her position April 17. Onanç took the decision following a request from party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, daily Hürriyet reported.

Kılıçdaroğlu told Onanç that her statement put the party in a difficult position, according to Hürriyet. Onanç was known to be close to the CHP's Kurdish deputy chair, Sezgin Tanrıkulu. Controversies had already been sparked when CHP Uşak deputy Dilek Akagün Yılmaz called Tanrıkulu a CIA agent. The accusation was interpreted as a clash between nationalist tendencies and reformists inside the party.