Turkey: Main opposition leader warns of rifts in party

This is not a day for party rifts, but for solving the problems of the Republic of Turkey, says Kemal Kilicdaroglu

By Ilkay Guder and Zehra Aydin

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey’s main opposition leader urged unity on Saturday, saying there is no place for those who cause strife within the party ranks.

“I want you to listen to me carefully. This is not a day for splits within the party. It is a day for solving the problems of the Republic of Turkey,” Kemal Kilicdaroglu told the Republican People's Party (CHP) ordinary congress in the capital Ankara.

Kilicdaroglu’s remarks came after the Interior Ministry last Thursday dismissed Murat Hazinedar, the mayor of Istanbul's Besiktas district, over allegations of corruption as well as links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind a defeated 2016 coup.

Kilicdaroglu said that there would be “no place for those who causes strife within the party.”

“Let them leave and go. We will be busy with our business,” Kilicdaroglu said.

“The party has not need for gossip,” he added.

FETO organized the defeated July 2016 coup, which martyred 250 people and left some 2,200 injured.

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