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Member of ruling AKP arrested for attack on Turkish opposition leader
[Rudaw] A member of The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the most dubious NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and structure....
ally....

’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been incarcerated
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
in connection with an attack on the head of the country’s main opposition party. AKP will consider dismissing the member who is currently in jug, according to the party’s spokesperson.

Osman Sarigun was one of six people arrested on Monday in connection with the Sunday mobbing of Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Sarigun’s role within AKP is not immediately clear.

"AKP is against any form of violence. Our principles certainly reject violence. There is no room for violence in democratic politics," AKP spokesperson Omer Celik said on Twitter, confirming Sarigun’s membership in the party and that he will face a disciplinary hearing.

Kilicdaroglu, 70, was attacked by a crowd when he attended the funeral in Ankara for a Ottoman Turkish soldier killed in festivities with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). He was hurried to a safe house by security forces and, unhurt, later gave a speech to supporters.

"The assailants have no respect for the martyr," he said, AFP reported. "They are not genuine Moslems."

AKP and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) quickly condemned the attack on the CHP leader. Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin also tweeted his condemnation.

President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First
... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey...
tweeted Monday afternoon that the attack was an "unwelcome act of violence," and will be investigated.

Political tensions are high in the country after AKP lost key cities in the March 31 mayoral election. CHP’s candidate in Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, won the mayorship of Istanbul with a slim majority over his AKP rival. AKP requested several recounts and a demand for a full rerun of the election in the metropolis is still before the electoral authorities.

In the election campaign, Erdogan frequently accused CHP of backing the PKK. The crowd at the funeral picked up on the theme, chanting "Kick out PKK parties!"

Erdogan’s rhetoric probably played a role in the attack, said Kati Piri, the European parliament’s rapporteur for Turkey. The incident was "likely inspired by hate speeches of ruling politicians," she tweeted on Sunday. "This radical polarization must end."
Al Ahram adds:
Turkish police on Monday arrested nine people, including a member of the ruling AKP party, after a mob attack on opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu that sparked widespread criticism.

The chief suspect in Sunday's attack, identified only by his initials O.S., was arrested in Sivrihisar in central Anatolia and was being taken to Ankara, private NTV television reported. The AKP later identified him as Osman Sarigun and said he was a party member who would face expulsion.

Eight other people have also been detained, officials said.
Posted by: trailing wife 2019-04-23
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=539378