AKP district chair removed from office following brawl: 'It didn't suit you'

Following the events, District Chair Yaşar Yıldız and Youth Branch Chair Oğulcan Okan Kolaman were referred to the Provincial Disciplinary Board with a request for disciplinary action. In a statement to SÖZCÜ, Miraç Cin said, "Yes, unpleasant events occurred; the party management referred them to the disciplinary board, and the decision is now up to them."

REMOVED FROM OFFICE

District Chair Yaşar Yıldız, however, claimed the allegations were false. Yaşar Yıldız has been removed from his position as Bodrum District Chair.

According to a report by the local Bodrum-based news site Bodrum Sıcak Haber, Bodrum District Chair Yaşar Yıldız called some provincial administrators the night before the meeting and told them he had prepared a surprise involving a beating for Provincial Vice Chair Miraç Cin at the Provincial Advisory meeting the next day. On Saturday, as the Provincial Chair and Provincial Vice Chairs were entering the meeting hall of the Chamber of Shipping where the Provincial Advisory Board was to be held, Bodrum District Chair Yaşar Yıldız, accompanied by black-clad bodyguards he brought with him who were not party members, struck Provincial Vice Chair Miraç Cin with his chest. However, after Miraç Cin told Yaşar Yıldız, "It didn't suit you to do this under the roof of the AK Party; it is shameful," Provincial Chair Haluk Laçin and other officials intervened. After the situation calmed down, the meeting proceeded.

It is alleged that after the meeting concluded, as the Provincial Chair and his delegation were heading downstairs toward their car, three black-clad bodyguards, allegedly brought by District Chair Yaşar Yıldız, attacked Provincial Vice Chair Miraç. It is claimed that one of the bodyguards was stopped while attempting to draw a weapon due to the intervention of district management and municipal council members, that a brief scuffle subsequently broke out between party officials and these three bodyguards, and that a person named Oğulcan Okan Kalaman, who works for Yaşar Yıldız's business partner, was punched. Police intervened in the incident.

REFERRED TO DISCIPLINARY BOARD WITH REQUEST FOR PERMANENT EXPULSION

Following the incident, it was announced that District Chair Yaşar Yıldız and Youth Branch Chair Okan Oğulcan Kolaman were referred to the Disciplinary Board with a request for permanent expulsion.

AKP Provincial Vice Chair Miraç Cin and District Chair Yaşar Yıldız made statements to the SÖZCÜ reporter regarding the allegations.

"WHAT HAPPENED IS TRUE, THE DECISION IS WITH THE DISCIPLINARY BOARD"

In his statement, Miraç Cin said, "What happened is unfortunately sad but true. The events should not have reached this stage. The party management took control of the situation and they were referred to the Disciplinary Board. The decision to be made from now on belongs to the disciplinary board; in accordance with party tradition, I do not want to talk too much about this matter."

Bodrum District Chair Yaşar Yıldız, who was removed from his post by the AKP Presidency today, said in his statement, "Everything described is a lie; we have videos of the events. We are the real victims; we have video evidence."

Removed Bodrum AKP district chair Yaşar Yıldız issued a written statement.

"I am facing an assassination of character aimed at misleading the public with unreal allegations. First of all, I would like to state that the incident in question is a product of an effort to create a perception.

The claim that we brought someone from the outside is also a complete lie. Camera recordings of the incident exist, and when the recordings are examined, it will be clearly seen that there was no intervention against our Provincial Vice Chair Miraç Cin. There was no intervention by either myself or my friends. What happened was merely a short-lived scuffle between party members. I, on the other hand, tried to calm the environment and my friends from the beginning of the process. When the camera recordings are examined, the reality of the incident has emerged.

I have not engaged in any behavior contrary to the charter, principles, and political stance of our AK Party. As a member of the organization who has dedicated his life to this cause, I continue to walk on this blessed path under the leadership of our President and General Chair, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. I have never betrayed our cause, as I did not yesterday, and I will not.

News prepared with deliberately distorted and baseless information to mislead the public does not reflect the truth. Although it is desired to wear me down with such lies and slanders, my belief and loyalty to the people's cause will not be shaken. I defend my rights against this character assassination in the loudest voice, and I express that I reject these baseless allegations and condemn them to the end.

We are cadres who believe in the cause of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. As we did yesterday, we will continue to defend the honor and values of our party under all circumstances by remaining loyal to this cause today."