Turkish opposition leader and Erdogan challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu has gained millions of clicks with his public statement that he belongs to the Alevi religious minority.
“I am Alevi. (…) Our identity makes us what we are,’ said the 74-year-old in the video published on Wednesday evening. A number of users praised the move. Kilicdaroglu wants to snatch the presidency from incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on May 14. Before his candidacy was announced, his Alevi background was repeatedly mentioned as a possible disadvantage.
religious minority
Alevis are a religious minority in majority Sunni Turkey and to this day they complain of discrimination and oppression in the country. An event repeatedly mentioned in this context is an arson attack in 1993, in which fundamentalists attacked a hotel in the Anatolian city of Sivas, considered an Alevi stronghold. 30 people were killed, mostly Alevis.
Kilicdaroglu was misunderstood by the Turkish government. “Why is he saying that now?” Turkey’s Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu asked in a TV interview, arguing that preferences play no significant role in getting into office in Turkey. (lzo/sda/dpa)
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I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
