Erdogan holds giant Istanbul rally week ahead of referendum: HumSub.TV
Erdogan holds giant Istanbul rally week ahead of referendum: HumSub.TV: Tens of thousands packed one of Istanbul s biggest public spaces Saturday as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosted a giant rally seeking votes in next week s referendum on enhancing his powers.
Lambasting Turkey s enemies and taking pot shots at his opponents, Erdogan said a Yes vote in the April 16 referendum would give the country more stability and power.
“On April 16, do you want to say yes to a strong Turkey?” Erdogan asked the crowd, who waved a sea of red and white crescent moon Turkish flags.
“Do you want a great Turkey? Do you want to say yes to stability? Will you be there Istanbul?” he added, as the crowd roared back yes!”
Erdogan arrived by helicopter to cheers at the vast open ground in Istanbul s Yenikapi district, on the shores of the Sea of Marmara.
It was here last August that he held a mass rally calling for national solidarity in the wake of the failed July coup blamed on the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, and Erdogan clearly wanted to capture the spirit of that day.
Erdogan said the likes of Gulen, who denies being behind the coup, and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) wanted to see a No vote.
And he charged that No voters were also against his bid to transform Turkey through modern infrastructure projects such as bridges and tunnels.
“They said No to the bridges. They say No to a modern Turkey,” he roared, prowling around a walkway that extended from the stage like at a rock concert.
Analysts see the referendum as tightly contested, despite the domination of the Yes campaign in the media.
If approved, the new system will see the scrapping of the post of prime minister, the creation of vice presidents and the empowering of the president to appoint ministers.
The changes will also allow the president to be affiliated with a party, allowing Erdogan to restore his ties with the Justice and Development Party (AKP) that he co-founded and helped sweep to power in 2002.
Supporters say the new system will create an efficient US-style structure but critics argue the lack of checks-and-balances risks handing Erdogan one-man rule.
Wearing headbands with “Tayyip Erdogan — commander in chief” written on them and some even sporting Erdogan face masks, supporters said giving the president greater powers was essential to Turkey s development.
“We want Turkey to grow, we want Recep Tayyip Erdogan to remain our leader. Without him Turkey is not herself,” said yes supporter Nahil Unal.
Erdogan also prompted boos by mentioning his opponent, the leader of the secular Republican People s Party (CHP) Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who claimed this week that the failed putsch was a “controlled coup” which the government knew about in advance.
Analysts say that the outcome in Turkey s largest city Istanbul — whose diversity is fairly representative of the hugely complex country — will be critical to the result of the referendum.
The No campaign suffers from a lack of a clear figurehead and vastly fewer resources but is hoping to rally substantial numbers of secularists, Kurds and nationalists to its cause.
On the other Asian side of the city across the Bosphorus, the pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) held a rally pushing a No vote.
Both the party s co-leaders are jailed on charges of backing the PKK, which the party argues is punishment for daring to oppose the presidential system.
Senior HDP lawmaker Sirri Sureyya Onder told the rally: “In this referendum our co-leaders, our MPs, our youth, our friends are facing the greatest oppression in our history.”
About HumSub TV
Introduction
HumSub TV is Pakistan’s leading forwarding-thinking, edutainment channel, aimed at promoting and upholding peace, interfaith harmony and social responsibility within Pakistan through informative and insightful programmes and documentaries; analytical interviews on issues pertaining to social, economic, legal and environmental set-up; dedicated shows to canvass and thereby promote the culture and heritage of Pakistan and in-depth coverage of national and international news.
HumSub TV is the first channel and thus a pioneer within its own right that mainly focuses on emphasising the “Rights” as well as the “Obligations” of the citizens in light of the Constitution of Pakistan, numerous International declarations signed by the Government and various laws that have been promulgated over the years but are not in the knowledge of the common citizen.
HumSub TV also aims to enter into bilateral agreements with other countries to promote not only their culture, heritage and tourism, but also their educational and medical facilities.
Following the successful launch of HumSub TV’s head office in Blue Area, Islamabad; the bureau office has been set up in Lahore.
Vision
To project positive image building of Pakistan and inculcate nationalism, as per the vision of the founder of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
Mission
HumSub TV is resolute about the promotion of a pluralistic, inclusive and egalitarian society in Pakistan where all citizens are allowed to contribute to promote interfaith harmony, peace and collective wisdom in the social, political and economic development of Pakistan and to encourage critical and lateral thinking in the society. HumSub TV strives to make a positive contribution to this end.
HumSub TV’s Theme
HumSub TV, Pakistan’s first EDUTAINMENT Channel, has been set up for not only those audience residing in Pakistan or overseas but the international community on the whole. The vision of the channel is to project positive image building of Pakistan and inculcate nationalism as per the vision of the founder of the nation.
HumSub TV strives to make a positive contribution to this end by promoting pluralism, inclusiveness and egality in Pakistan and give voice to the suppressed. It endeavors to act as a positive catalyst for social change and Pakistani nationalism. It envisions providing a platform for airing critical and lateral thinking and collective wisdom by inviting positive minded intellectuals and opinion forming individuals for the promotion of interfaith harmony and peace in the social, political and economic development of Pakistan.
Whereas the channel airs upbeat edutainment programmes, it, nonetheless, has the primary objective of countering negative anti-Pakistan regional and international propaganda as well as advancing fundamental rights as encapsulated in the Constitution of Pakistan.
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