Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, at his party’s weekly meeting, brought up specific instances of human rights violations caused by a post-coup purge in Turkey, leveling criticism against the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government for the situation.
Kılıçdaroğlu related a story told to him by a CHP member about a chemistry teacher in Afyon who was detained with her two-month-old child. Some people are dismissed from their jobs, while others have lost all their property during the purge, Kılıçdaroğlu pointed out in reference to the unlawful practices of the government as part of the coup investigation. “Can you tell me whether such a level of oppression took place under military rule?” Kılıçdaroğlu asked rhetorically as he said that families are being collectively destroyed.
Also complaining about the increasing nepotism of the government, Kılıçdaroğlu said that following a massive purge of teachers, the AKP now wants to employ only AKP loyalists as teachers by eliminating non-partisans in interviews. In reference to political questions asked to teacher candidates, Kılıçdaroğlu said: “They ask who you think of when you hear the word ‘chief.’ We remember the chief Piri [an Ottoman admiral]. They ask what you felt during the Gezi protests. We felt freedom. Where is the treason here?”
Slamming the ever-increasing pressure on the country’s remaining independent media outlets, Kılıçdaroğlu said TV stations such as Hayat Güzeldir and İMC have been shut down without any court verdict.