Turkish opposition CHP protests children on their day

Members of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) sparked controversy in the southern city of Gaziantep for a protest during celebrations for Children’s Day on Thursday.

The party’s chair in the province, Vakkas Acar, and other members turned their backs during a celebratory event as the children from a kindergarten performed songs in the style of mehter, an Ottoman military band. Acar reasoned that the protest was against “imposing palace culture on children,” referring to the Ottomans.

The CHP was founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, an Ottoman officer who later led Türkiye’s war of independence as the empire collapsed. Children performing in the traditional garbs of mehter members were apparently unperturbed, as a video of the protest showed, while other children attending the celebrations gave puzzling looks to middle-aged men and women suddenly turning their backs to children on the day dedicated to children by Atatürk himself.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) was quick to criticize the CHP over the protest. Party Secretary-General Eyyüp Kadir Inan accused the CHP of running out of ways for political engagement. In a social media post, Inan said the party targeted “children’s innocence” and said a party turning its back on children would do the same for “the future of the nation.” AK Party Deputy Chair Faruk Acar echoed Inan in a social media post.

“This is the CHP we came to know. They are not on good terms with our history and values. They stand against anything good. They turned their backs on their nation. They don’t understand the spirit of Türkiye. It is a shame,” he said.