Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş said yesterday that the Republican People's Party (CHP) bears the responsibility for not allowing terrorist groups and provocateurs to join the march started by CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu last month.

Addressing journalists following the Council of Ministers meeting yesterday, Kurtulmuş called on the CHP to be aware of any provocations that might be incited by terrorist groups in Kılıçdaroğlu's march from the capital Ankara to Istanbul. "We want CHP authorities to be awake. So-called artists invited people to this march that made speeches in the unions of terrorist groups," Kurtulmuş said, adding that the responsibility falls on the shoulders of the party to not let terrorists find a place for themselves at the march.

Stressing that the government has the duty to prevent any provocation from taking place in the march, Kurtulmuş said the event itself should be analyzed given that its arrival date coincides with the first anniversary of the July 15 coup attempt and it offers terrorist groups a platform to voice their opinions.

"It exactly coincides with the anniversary of the July 15 [coup attempt]. We wish we could march altogether against coup d'états [and] terrorist groups. It is meaningful that this march is being held just before the July 15 [coup attempt]. They shall not give ground to some marginal elements under the CHP flag to carry out their own policies," Kurtulmuş warned.

Kılıçdaroğlu's march started on June 15 after Istanbul's 14th Heavy Penal Court ruled to sentence CHP lawmaker Enis Berberoğlu to 25 years in jail for releasing secret documents with the purpose of political or military espionage. Berberoğlu was arrested in the courthouse after a hearing. Berberoğlu was accused of supplying confidential information regarding the country's intelligence service to two journalists, Can Dündar and Erdem Gül, in the controversial "MİT trucks" case.