{"id":6041,"date":"2015-09-21T16:53:23","date_gmt":"2015-09-21T15:53:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/?p=6041"},"modified":"2015-09-21T16:53:23","modified_gmt":"2015-09-21T15:53:23","slug":"over-100000-turn-up-at-erdogan-rally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/index.php\/over-100000-turn-up-at-erdogan-rally\/","title":{"rendered":"Over 100,000 turn up at Erdogan rally"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Turky\"<\/a>More than 100,000 people \u2014 many waving Turkish flags \u2014 attended an \u201canti-terrorism\u201d rally in Istanbul Sunday, AFP reporters estimated, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presses a major offensive against Kurdish rebels.
\nThe huge crowd thronged Yenikapi Square on the shores of the Marmara Sea for the demonstration, which was to culminate with an address by Erdogan.
\nOn Thursday, thousands took part in a similar rally in the capital Ankara to denounce the Kurdistan Workers\u2019 Party (PKK), which has killed dozens of police and soldiers in a string of attacks in the mainly Kurdish southeast since the collapse of a two-year cease-fire in July.
\nMany of the demonstrators wore red headbands that eulogized the slain security force members as \u201cmartyrs.\u201d
\n\u201cMartyrs never die, the homeland cannot be divided,\u201d the headbands read.
\nNo political emblems were visible among the sea of red Turkish flags in Istanbul but many of the demonstrators expressed fervent support for Erdogan\u2019s Justice and Development Party (AKP).
\n\u201cWe will support Erdogan to the end. We are behind him because he defends our flag and our nation,\u201d Gunel Yildiz, a 43-year-old textile industry worker, who carried a giant Turkish flag, told AFP.
\n\u201cBelieve me the terrorists won\u2019t return to Parliament,\u201d Alev Akmurat, a 22-year-old student said. \u201cThe AKP will regain power, God willing,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

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