CHP leader: Government turned blind eye to disrespect for flag
Turkeyâs main opposition leader has claimed that both the president and the prime minister broke their silence over removal of the national flag from an Air Force base in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır only after he âraised hellâ over the incident.
âImagine a military unit. You jump over chain-link fences, you climb to the flagpole, you take down the flag, you get it and you come back to this side again by climbing over the chain-link fences,â main opposition Republican Peopleâs Party (CHP) leader Kemal KılıçdaroÄlu said on June 10, describing how a masked protester climbed a pole at the 2nd Air Force base in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır and took down the flag on June 8, during violent clashes between security forces and demonstrators.
Sundayâs clashes were an extension of earlier protests against the growing military presence in the region, which were further sparked after the killing of two protesters late on June 7.
A masked demonstrator was photographed by Agence France-Presse photographer Ä°lyas Akengin on June 8 as he was climbing the flagpole after jumping over the walls surrounding the 2nd Air Force Command.
âThe prime minister said nothing and the president said nothing either. Journalists told me and I raised hell. Only afterward did he [Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄan] yell, saying âHow can a flag be brought down?ââ KılıçdaroÄlu said.
âHow can I remain silent at the taking down of a flag? How can this country remain silent? Hundreds of thousands of our people were martyred to have that flag raised. Iâm calling out to all my citizens; wasnât it [ErdoÄan] who until as recently as yesterday said...
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