The main opposition Republican People's Party Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said Wednesday that level-headedness should be kept following the attack on him last week at the funeral of a martyred soldier, defining the assault as a serious incident notwithstanding.
"The attack, more precisely the lynch attempt, is not an incident to forgive but we should keep our calm nonetheless," Kılıçdaroğlu said after a visit by Democrat Party (DP) Chairman Gültekin Uysal.
The CHP Chairman added that Turkey will overcome such kinds of agitations and he has confidence in people's prudence.
Kılıçdaroğlu was attacked during the funeral of Yener Kırıkçı, a soldier who was killed by PKK terrorists near the Turkey-Iraq border last week. A group of men started protesting against the CHP leader, which then turned violent, in reaction to his party's alleged secretive alliance with the pro-PKK Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) during the local elections.
Ankara Chief Prosecutor's Office launched an inquiry following the incident and took Osman Sarıgün, who punched the CHP leader, into custody along with 11 other people. The attackers are charged with "defamation of public officials for his/her duty," "bo
dily harm" and "inciting the public to commit a crime." Late Tuesday, Sarıgün was released under judicial control.
İsmail Koncuk, the Adana deputy of the Good Party (İP), which is the CHP's partner under the Nation Alliance election bloc, criticized the decision. "Osman Sarıgün, who punched Kılıçdaroğlu, was released under judicial control. Are we surprised? No!" he wrote on Twitter after the decree. The CHP on Tuesday tabled an investigation motion in Parliament to shed light on the matter, identifying the responsible parties and reasons for security vulnerabilities. Pointing out that the attack was organized and meant as a provocation, the motion accused security forces of standing idle in the face of attacks and allowing the attackers to move forward.
Answering the CHP's allegations late Tuesday, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said the allegations of it being an "organized attack" are a "bunch of lies," emphasizing that Kırıkçı's family and the village mukhtar had no information about the CHP leader's arrival at the funeral. "The family confirmed that they didn't know [of Kılıçdaroğlu's participation] and wished to be left alone. Speaking lies does not behoove a party leader," Soylu said. Kılıçdaroğlu asserted Monday that his officials informed the family of the killed soldier and the mukhtar that they would be coming.
The interior minister added that they did not find any clue so far during the investigation suggesting that the attack was a provocation and organized by people coming outside of the village.