AKP accuses CHP of 'leading Turkey into chaos' with justice march

ANKARA

A senior ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) official has accused the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) of attempting to "lead Turkey into chaos" with its ongoing justice march from Ankara to Istanbul. He also claimed that CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu was a "mouthpiece" of foreign circles working against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his government.  

“The CHP is concealing its efforts of creating chaos by abusing the concept of justice. I wish he [Kılıçdaroğlu] would be sincere in his demand for justice. If they were really sincere, then they would support our efforts to bring the July 15, 2016, coup plotters to account for their actions and they would stand with the victims,” AKP spokesperson Mahir Ünal told daily Sabah in an interview on July 3. 

“They would not resume the role of being the mouthpiece of traitors after the coup attempt,” he added, insinuating that the CHP was replacing the orchestrators of the July 15, 2016, coup attempt, led by the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ).  

Ünal’s comments came after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other senior AKP officials’ harsh criticisms of the CHP over their “justice march,” which began three weeks ago after a senior CHP lawmaker was arrested on charges of espionage. 

“An interesting picture appears when we analyze the statements of Kılıçdaroğlu and his friends since 2013. The CHP is using the same propaganda language against Turkey as international actors,” he said, adding that it was being done mostly by CHP members who identified themselves as the “new spirit of the party,” labelling them as the “adversaries of the traditional CHP line.” 

The AKP spokesman also said the CHP was acting on behalf of groups attempting to try the AKP in international courts. 

“We are witnessing that Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has been undertaking [the role of] being a spokesperson of the circles that try to portray Turkey’s actions to protect its citizens and borders as war crimes,” he stated, adding that the CHP was not acting like a political party but an organization targeting the unity of Turkey.