ANKARA (Dispatches) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has hit out at the alliance of the six opposition parties for “drawing support” from terrorist organizations and imperialists, saying they are seeking to “divide the country” and revert its gains.
Erdogan made the remarks at a massive election rally in the southern Turkish province of Antalya, where thousands of supporters of the country’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) gathered.
“They just want to push Turkey into a pit from which it will not be able to recover for at least half a century, with its politics, economy, defense, diplomacy, and plunge it into a swamp,” Erdogan said.
He said this is not the first time that Turkey is exposed to ideological infighting, sectarian and ethnic strife, implying that foreign powers are endorsing the opposition bloc.
“They want to divide the country into camps again by deepening the separation of origin and sect, and turn brother against brother,” Erdogan said, adding, “They want to hand over the country to terrorist groups controlled by imperialists.”
“In short, their problem is not with us, but with Turkey, the Turkish nation, and Turkey’s gains,” he maintained.
The six-party opposition bloc, led by presidential candidate and Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chair Kemal Kılıcdaroglu, aims to reverse many of Erdogan’s policies on foreign affairs, economy, and civil rights.
The bloc has already unveiled plans to assign heads of six parties as vice presidents of Kemal Kilicdaroglu if they win the elections.
On Sunday, Erdogan accused Kilicdaroglu, his main rival, of cooperating with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), as he visited the Teknofest aviation and space fair in Istanbul.
The PKK – designated as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union – has been waging a decades-long armed insurgency against Ankara for greater autonomy for the Kurdish minority in the Turkish southeast.
Turkey is to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on 14 May, a month ahead of schedule.
Erdogan, 69, has ruled Turkey since 2003, first as prime minister and later as president. He is facing criticisms over Turkey’s double-digit inflation and his government’s response to February’s devastating earthquake.