Nationalist leader Bahçeli says he is ready to sacrifice his life in Turkey’s Afrin operation

ANKARA

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has said he is “ready to sacrifice his life” in Turkey’s ongoing “Operation Olive Branch” in the northern Syrian district of Afrin.

“If necessary I will go to Afrin just like a Bozkurt [Grey Wolf]. If it is necessary, if there is a need, I will sacrifice my life for this nation,” Bahçeli said on Feb. 6, addressing his party group in parliament. The grey wolf is a popular symbol among far-right nationalist groups in Turkey.

Reiterating the MHP’s support for the Afrin offensive, which has entered its third week, Bahçeli said it aims to “to destroy the terrorist organizations that the West has fed and brought up.”

“Whoever opposes us in this process, our attitude should not and will not change,” he added.

Bahçeli, whose party has become increasingly aligned with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in recent weeks, blasted the U.S. for its support of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara considers terrorist organizations linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

“The U.S. has unnamed malicious intentions against Turkey, which could also be seen during the Cold War,” he said.