Turkish defense minister told party supporters that ‘the time will come to kill’

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar (by Nordic Monitor)

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, who has been nominated by the ruling party as a candidate for a parliamentary seat from his hometown of Kayseri, supported slogans calling for violence shouted by the audience at a party meeting on Sunday and replied, “Wait, the time will come [to kill],” Nordic Monitor reported on Tuesday.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan decided to nominate all his cabinet ministers as MPs in order to have more seats in parliament. Akar, who was previously chief of general staff, was appointed to the cabinet by Erdoğan following the 2018 elections.

While Akar was talking about the fight against terrorism and his ministry’s work at the party gathering, young people in attendance began to shout nationalist slogans that included the once-popular themes of killing opponents, especially leftist ones, and dying for the cause. Hearing the slogans, Akar responded with a smile and raised his fists, saying, “The time will come.”

After the opposition claimed that this behavior during an election period was an invitation to violence against the opposition, the newly turned politician Akar backtracked and claimed his words had been distorted.

“As we talk about the fight against terrorism, as we enter the dens of these terrorists, dissonant voices come from within the country,” Akar said, referring to the opposition, and added, “We follow them with surprise and sadness. It’s ill-intentioned to derive other meanings from my words. It’s a distortion.”

However, he failed to explain what he was referring to with the words, “The time will come ” If he meant killing terrorists as he claims, he already said the army had been extremely successful in that endeavor, so there was no point in talking about a time that will come.

FOR MORE..

Take a second to support Stockholm Center for Freedom on Patreon!
Become a patron at Patreon!