Turkey’s main opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu slammed the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) leaders for “turning Turkey into a bloodbath” and said they should be tried for “aiding and abetting terrorist organizations.”
In a speech to members of the CHP İstanbul branch, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said the neighboring Syria has become a new Afghanistan, an operational center for all jihadist groups. “They went there under protection offered by the government. Turkey has become embroiled in a process of Pakistanization,” said Kılıçdaroğlu.
The CHP leader said a total of 234 people were killed in six bombings across Turkey over the past six months. “No country that is not in a war has been through such a deep trauma. How can it be that 234 people have been killed over the past six months but no is held accountable politically?” he said.
28 people, mostly soldiers, were killed when a car laden with explosives detonated as buses carrying military personnel stopped at traffic lights in downtown Ankara on Feb. 17. It was the second bomb attack in the city over the past four months. On Oct. 10, 2015, more than 100 people were killed when two bombs exploded second apart among a crowd headed to a peace rally in the bloodiest terror attack in the history of the Turkish Republic.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu blamed the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) for the Feb. 17 attack, although its political arm, the Democratic Union Party (PYD) denied YPG involvement. The Oct. 10 attack is believed to have been carried out by militants linked with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), although the government insisted that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorist group was also involved.
Kılıçdaroğlu said ISIL has emerged as a new source of trouble as if the PKK was not enough. “You handed them guns, you turned cities into weapon warehouses. ISIL has recruited militants from 70 provinces across Turkey,” he said, adding that the AK Party leaders, including President Erdoğan, should be called to account for what he called aiding and abetting terrorist organizations.
“Why has Turkey been Pakistanized? Because of aiding and abetting [terrorist groups]. Everyone should be aware of this fact,” he said.
The CHP leader said the terrorist groups gained ground in Turkey because the country is not well governed and added that former President Abdullah Gül, who co-founded AK Party, partly shares these concerns as well.
Gül, speaking to reporters on Feb. 19, said Turkey was going through the most difficult time of its history, in comments on the latest bomb attack in Ankara.
Opposition leader warns Turkey in process of ‘Pakistanization’
I think this guy is reading my posts