CHP inspector remarks cause crisis: AKP deputy apologizes

AKP Istanbul Deputy Adem Yıldırım became the target of public criticism following a press statement he made recently, due to passages he read from a book written by a journalist. Stating that the expressions in the book contained "remarks by Republican People's Party inspectors directed at villagers," Yıldırım pointed out that these were not his personal views.

"THE WORDS ARE NOT MINE"

Stating that he received many reactions on social media and via telephone following his statement, Yıldırım said these reactions were based on a misunderstanding. Emphasizing that the sentences at the center of the criticism belonged to the book and not to him, Yıldırım spoke as follows:

"Friends from the Republican People's Party have been disturbed. My primary advice to them is, if you are disturbed, you can file a lawsuit to have this book removed, saying 'There is an insult to our history.' It is not right for me to face accusations over a sentence I did not say."

"I WANTED TO SHED LIGHT ON A PERIOD"

In his statement, expressing that he wanted to draw attention to education policies in the early period of the Republic, Yıldırım stated that the reason he read the passage in question was "to show the point reached in national education." He argued that CHP figures should confront their own history while criticizing National Education policies.

Yıldırım said in his speech that he quoted from a book without changing a single point or comma, and that these words were taken out of context and misunderstood. Following the reactions, he made the following statement:

"If this has caused any sadness or any negativity, I would like to express that I had no intention of causing such, and I apologize in this sense to the friends who have given their hearts to the esteemed Republican People's Party. Because I had no such intention."