Republican People's Party (CHP) former Istanbul provincial chairman Şinasi Öktem made astounding remarks about the CHP on CNN Türk's live television program he attended on Friday night. "Today is the 108th anniversary of Sabahattin Ali's murder by the mentality of the fascist single-party period," said Öktem, who is also CHP's candidacy nominee for the upcoming general elections. Sebahattin Ali, born in 1907, was a journalist and a poet who was murdered in 1948. The program's moderator, Akif Beki, asked Öktem if he said these words knowingly or if they just happened to slip out. Öktem said his party was behind atrocities during the single-party period and that this fact cannot be denied or blamed on any other parties."The reason behind Nazım Hikmet's escaping is, of course, our party," he replied, standing behind his words. Nazım Hikmet Ran, famously known as Nazım Hikmet, was a leftist revolutionary Turkish poet who lived between 1902 – 1963 and repeatedly arrested for his political beliefs. He spent most of his adult life in exile, escaping from the state oppression. Aziz Babuşçu, AK Party's former Istanbul provincial head and candidacy nominee for the upcoming elections, was also present at the TV program.