President Erdoğan blames the opposition for the Kayseri incidents: 'One of the reasons for the events is the toxic rhetoric of the opposition'

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at the AK Party Local Governments Meeting. Addressing the incidents in Kayseri, Erdoğan made the following remarks:

‘Our nation had the final say on March 31’

Of course, we do not claim to be perfect. There are some areas where we need to adapt to change more quickly. There may certainly be issues where we need to better keep our finger on the pulse of our youth. No mayor or party can compete with the AK Party in terms of preparing our cities for the future. Events since the March 31 elections have shown this reality once again. In the last elections, the opposition ran a campaign based on cheap populism. They made unrealistic promises with no foundation, exploiting economic difficulties. They did not put forward any concrete projects regarding the festering wounds of our cities. We have stayed away from all kinds of populism that would damage the trust between us and our people and impose heavy costs on the Turkish economy. On March 31, our nation went to the ballot box and had the final say. We have accepted this will with respect."

"We seek the fault and the flaw in ourselves"

"We have conducted and are continuing to conduct our self-criticism in a multidimensional way. We seek the fault and the flaw in ourselves. We will continue to take the necessary steps with determination until the demands of our nation from the AK Party are met. Once the elections ended, the opposition's rain of promises also came to an end. All the promises made were forgotten. Today, they are raising prices on everything they control. They have implemented astronomical price increases in almost all services. Instead of serving, they spend all their energy finding excuses. They are writing the book on nepotism in the municipalities they have turned into family farms. They have done nothing but assault citizens in office rooms, restrict women's participation in life, and wage war on Arabic signs. In the places where they took office, they threw our laboring brothers and sisters out the door. I must state this fact clearly and plainly; if there is no fundamental change in the opposition's understanding of politics, we will witness similar events again in the next 5 years. Turkey has suffered greatly from ideological fanaticism. For years, our nation was tormented in this country under the pretext of modernity. It was expected to unconditionally conform to a certain lifestyle. We have not interfered with anyone's lifestyle, beliefs, or preferences. We have stayed away from political revanchism."

"One of the reasons for the incidents in Kayseri is the toxic rhetoric of the opposition"

One cannot get anywhere by fueling xenophobia and hatred against refugees in society. One of the reasons for the regrettable incident caused by a small group in Kayseri yesterday is the toxic rhetoric of the opposition. Regardless of who it is, engaging in vandalism and setting streets on fire is unacceptable.

News Source: 12punto