Main opposition leader visits Syria border gate, says Turkey imports terrorism

REYHANLI, Hatay – Doğan News Agency

Turkish main opposition leader Kemal Kıçdaroğlu speaks to reporters after his examination at the Cilvegözü border gate on Sept. 21. DHA photo

CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu

expresses his condolences to

Emsal Atakan, the mother of a

demonstrator who died Sept. 10

during a police intervention in

Antakya. DHA photo

Turkish main opposition leader Kemal Kıçdaroğlu visited the Cilvegözü border crossing with Syria in the southern Hatay province on Sept. 21, where he once again criticized the government’s foreign policy.“Turkey is not well-governed. It has now become a country that imports terrorism,” the Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader told reporters following his examination at the gate where a deadly car bomb attack took place on February and which continues to be one of the main refugee entry points.“If you follow a policy that sides with peace, you will be able to overcome terrorism,” Kılıçdaroğlu said, noting that two deadly attacks occurred in Cilvegözü and in the nearby Reyhanlı town on May.“If Turkey persists with such a foreign policy, it might face paying more bitter prices,” he warned.Kılıçdaroğlu added that the border crossing had become more secure, especially thanks to new investments and more thorough measures adopted in the last months.The CHP leader has also condemned the Sept. 20 rocket attack on police buildings in central Ankara, urging the government to take additional preventive measures against similar actions in the future.“This is a form of terrorism. Everyone has to condemn such attacks. We expect the government to focus their efforts on this matter,” he said.Kılıçdaroğlu has met with the family of Ahmet Atakan, a demonstrator who died during a police intervention in Antakya on Sept. 10, sparking a new nationwide outcry.During his Hatay trip, the CHP leader is also expected visit the province’s southwestern district Samandağ, mostly populated by Arab Alawites or Nusayris.