Erdogan: Opposition coalition not to survive by 2023

By Azernews

Osman Ozgan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stated that the six-party opposition coalition will not survive by 2023, Yeni Shafak daily has reported.

On April 20, Erdogan lambasted the six opposition parties during an AK Party parliamentary group meeting in Ankara, referring to them as the "28 February coalition", pointing to the 1997 military coup in Turkey.

“The 28 February alliance, which is constantly fighting, stumbling over each other, constantly chasing caprice and plot, will not even see 2023, let alone the 2023 elections. Those who try to play politics with political engineering will fail; they will be beaten again, as they have been so many times in the previous 20 years, and they will vanish from history,” Erdogan stressed.

The president stated that the main concern of the opposition is to quarrel and criticize each other on social media and on other platforms. Even the discussions that took place last week showed once again that “honor cannot be sought in humiliation”, he added.

“Our citizens follow the scandals of the six-party table, which erupt every day, like a soap opera with lots of intrigue, lots of deception, lots of lies, passion and betrayal, sometimes laughing and sometimes ashamed,” Erdogan emphasized.

Furthermore, he underlined that the aim of Operation Claw-Lock launched in northern Iraq is to guarantee Turkey’s border security.

"No one is disturbed by the operations we have carried out, except the terrorist organization and its supporters,” Erdogan emphasized.

The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) has once again demonstrated that it is not a legitimate civilian political party and that it has no legal identity apart from the terrorist organization's support, Erdogan emphasized.

He described HDP as a secret partner of the six-party opposition alliance, which has been controlled by Qnadil (Kurdish region in Iraq).

“Hopefully, when there will be no place called Qandil soon, the reason for the existence of this party-looking terrorist organization will disappear. It will be one of the most important achievements of 2023 to free our country from the burden of this structure, which is incapable of seizing even an opportunity such as the solution process [the Kurdish–Turkish peace process],” Erdogan stated.

Referring to Israel's interventions in Masjid al-Aqsa, Erdogan said that the steps Tukey takes to improve its political and economic relations with Israel are different than the cause for Jerusalem.

"Even if the whole world remains silent, we will continue to repeat our will to protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque with the loudest voice,” Erdogan said.

In addition, Erdogan confirmed Labor and Social Security Minister Vedat Bilgin's statements on retirement payouts in answer to inquiries from media representatives following the group meeting.

Commenting on the Syrian refugee problem, Erdogan stressed that Turkey is a power that embraces refugees, not expels them.

"Once all of the briquette houses in Northern Syria are completed, we will ensure that they return there. When a peaceful environment is provided, the refugees will return voluntarily," said Turkey's president.