‘LGBT youth’ statement by President Erdoğan

* Photo: Murat Kula - Ankara / AA

Click to read the article in Turkish

President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed the ordinary congresses of his party in Adana, Antalya, Bursa and Muğla via video conference.

Addressing the meeting halls which were in full capacity despite the COVID-19 measures today (February 1), AKP Chair Erdoğan said, "I would like to thank you very much for making this crowded meeting happen in this closed meeting halls despite this outbreak."

Erdoğan also called on his party members to "bring the friends who had parted their ways with the party back in the AKP." Erdoğan said, "We will not lose, we will win again. We will pay attention to this."

'You are not the LGBT youth'

President and AKP Chair Erdoğan also made the following recommendations to the young members of his party:

"God willing, we will bring our youth to the future, not as the LGBT youth, but as the youth in the nation's glorious history. You are the youth on the keyboards of computers, you are not the LGBT youth.

"You are not a youth that vandalizes; on the very contrary, you are a youth making the broken hearts stand on their feet again."

CLICK - Targeted by the appointed rector and state officials, two Boğaziçi University students arrested

'We are content with the CHP executives'

Erdoğan also commented on the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and its Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.

"In an attempt to cover up the rush of harassment, rape and theft in their organization, they are attacking us and the AK Party with all types of inappropriate lies," said Erdoğan, adding:

"For weeks, they occupied the nation's agenda with 'the CHP member who went to the Presidential Complex'. Then, it was understood that this big lie was fabricated at the CHP Central Office."

Indicating that the CHP was "now targeting the AKP over the recent resignations from the party", Erdoğan said, "No matter how hard you try to cover it up, the nation knows very well with whom you walk on the same path and what kind of ugly deals you make."

Referring to CHP Chair Kılıçdaroğlu's Justice March in 2017, Erdoğan alleged that "the CHP Chair marched from Ankara to İstanbul with terrorist offsets for the members of the FETÖ", which is held accountable for the military coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016.

"Since Gezi incidents, CHP people have always been at the very forefront whenever there is a provocation," Erdoğan claimed further.

"I say this quite clearly: We are content with the current executives of the CHP. We are also very content with the CHP Chair, who makes a blunder every week," said Erdoğan and added:

"Our concern is for our country. Our trouble is about our democracy and Turkish politics. Speaking in the name of our own politics, we are faced with a competitor that we cannot find no matter how much we crave for." (AS/SD)