CHP Chairman Özgür Özel booed in Manisa

The IYI Party, AKP, MHP, and Saadet Party groups in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) had issued a joint declaration for the 12 soldiers who were martyred in clashes that occurred over the last 2 days in the Claw-Lock operation region in Northern Iraq. 

CHP DID NOT SIGN THE DECLARATION

 The CHP, which argued that the TBMM should hold a closed session to have the Minister of National Defense brief the deputies and that joint action should be taken only after that, did not sign the declaration and instead drafted its own, causing tension between the government and the main opposition party. 

In its declaration, the CHP stated, "We consider any steps taken before clarifying why these treacherous attacks were not prevented and whether there was any negligence by those responsible as a disrespect to the memory of our martyrs. Furthermore, declaring a 'national day of mourning' following such a painful event that has plunged our nation into indescribable grief is the common demand of the entire society. We will not allow terrorism to achieve its goals. We will continue our struggle for the independence and integrity of the Republic of Turkey with determination."

BOOED BY A GROUP OF CITIZENS

However, the CHP was targeted by the AKP wing after these statements because it did not sign the declaration. Following the rhetoric used especially on social media and in pro-government press, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, who went to his hometown of Manisa today, was booed by a group of citizens. 

A small-scale scuffle also took place. The incident experienced by Özel brought to mind the attack carried out on April 1, 2019, against the then-Chairman of the Republican People's Party, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, at the funeral of contract soldier Yener Kırıkçı, who was murdered by the PKK, in the Akkuzulu neighborhood of Ankara's Çubuk district.