Turkey: Thousands defy police to rally for ousted CHP leader Ozel
Tens of thousands of CHP supporters rallied for Ozgur Ozel in Izmir on Tuesday in a major show of defiance after a court ousted him from the party leadership.
ANKARA — Tens of thousands of supporters of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) took to the streets on Tuesday in a show of force behind ousted leader Ozgur Ozel, marking the first major act of defiance since a court ruling widely viewed as politically motivated removed him from the party leadership late last week.
Opposition show of force: Addressing supporters in the western Aegean port city of Izmir, Ozel framed the ruling as part of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s efforts to weaken the opposition.
“This is not an issue between Mr. Kemal and me,” Ozel said, referring to former CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who was reinstated as the party leader by the court, ostensibly to resolve an internal CHP dispute.
He said, “This is an issue between the nation and Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan is staging a coup against the CHP in order not to hand over power.”
