* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)
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İYİ Party Chair Meral Akşener has spoken at the weekly group meeting of her party. Addressing a series of issues in her speech, Akşener has criticized President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for not cancelling his visit to Ukraine after the soldiers of Turkey lost their lives in Syria's Idlib on February 3.
Akşener has stated, "Russia quite brazenly says that 'Turkey did not inform us about its works.' And Mr. Erdoğan did not cancel his visit and went to Ukraine. Are you happy with the developments, Mr. Erdoğan?"
'Syrian army targets Turkish soldiers'
Slamming the plans to give military aid to Ukraine as well, İYİ Party Chair Akşener has made the following remarks in brief:
"Unfortunately, the new week started with devastating news. The new moves of the chess played in the geography of Middle East have taken our eight heroes away from us. Hand in hand with Russia, the Syrian army attacked the elements of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). Our five heroic soldiers and three civilian officials have fallen martyrs, we also have nine wounded.
"We have martyrs, our army is on full alert, we will hold our funerals, we will give morale boost to our army. However, there is a very important point: On February 2, Ukraine made a statement. It was said that Turkey would give 200 million lira to Ukraine in aid. The same night, at the night of February 3, the Syrian army controlled by Russia, which is responsible for the occupation of Ukraine and Crimea, targeted Turkish soldiers. The game of chess at play here is clear: We give military aid, become a military target."
'It is free to insult Atatürk, but...'
Referring to the economic hardships suffered by people, Akşener has said, "While they are getting rich with the nation's money, the reality of people is very different. We were in İzmir this week. It is not very good at all. The storekeepers say that there is no money, the youth say that that there is no job. I talk to a greengrocer in Tire, s/he says that while they take 1 percent from hypermarkets, they take 8 percent from small retailers."
Concluding her remarks, Akşener has also addressed the lawsuits filed for "criticizing the President." She has said, "While it is free to insult the memory of [Mustafa Kemal] Atatürk, there is 2-year prison sentence for criticizing Mr. Erdoğan. It is free to dishonor us, but if you say the tiniest thing about Erdoğan, you are in the soup." (EMK/SD)
