What Is the 'Secret' Behind the Harmony Between the Largest Turkish Opposition Party and Al-Assad?

While Turkey's forests were burning, and Syria was in its bloody war that exceeded a decade and left hundreds of thousands dead and millions of refugees, the opposition Turkish Republican People's Party held a concert in the Turkish province of Hatay, in the presence of the Syrian singer who supports the regime of Bashar al-Assad, "Ali al-Deek."

In the "Swedish" city of Antakya in the province of Hatay, the al-Deek sang with melodies and songs in the presence of parliamentarians from the People's Party known as "CHP," a ceremony described by Turkish newspapers and activists on social media as "shameful."

This incident raises questions about the nature of relations between the largest Turkish opposition party and the President of the Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad, who is implicated in unprecedented massacres of his own people.

Party leader Kemal Kilichdaroglu has always called on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to normalize relations with Assad and restore relations with the bloody Damascus regime.

The opposition party has always raised hate campaigns against the Syrian refugees in Turkey, whose number reaches nearly 4 million citizens.

Kilichdaroglu himself, and a number of mayors belonging to the People's Party, stated that the Syrians should be returned to their country and deported from Turkey.

What are the reasons for these calls, and what is the nature of the relationship of the Republican People’s Party and its leader with the President of the Syrian regime?

 

Big Party

On August 4, 2021, the Syrian artist "Ali al-Deek", loyal to the regime of Bashar al-Assad, revived a concert in the Swedish city of Antakya in the province of Hatay.

The local "Turk" newspaper reported, "Although forest fires continued in many regions of Turkey, the (Ali Al-Deek) party was revived in the presence of a large number of members and affiliates of the Republican People's Party in the city."

It added, "It turned out that the wedding ceremony belonged to the families (Ray and Kojak) in Samandag, and the ceremony, which was attended by the two deputies of the Republican People's Party for Hatay (Muhammad Ghozal Mansour) and (Ismet Tokdemir), turned into a show for supporters of the Assad regime."

It indicated that "Ali al-Deek appeared in a videotape saluting the image of (Bashar al-Assad) that was uploaded during the ceremony."

Activists on the social networking site Twitter circulated clips of the ceremony, which included chanting slogans in support of the head of the Syrian regime.

 In addition to chanting for "Miraj Ural", the perpetrator of the Baniyas massacre, a defected Turkish officer, is currently the leader of the "Liberation of Iskenderun" militia, classified as a terrorist by Ankara.

Another person known as "Ali Kayali", had previously appeared in video recordings supporting the terrorist militia, saying, "We are here, where is Erdogan?"

What raised the most reservations and questions in the news and blogs dealing with the event, is how the singer "Ali al-Deek", who insulted Turkey and its president in several situations, entered.

This artist is known to be loyal to the al-Assad regime. How did the representatives of the people accept his presence? and to hold a party in his honor?

 

Normalization Advocates

The nature of the relationship between the Assad regime and the Turkish Republican People’s Party reflects what the party leader said on July 16, 2019, when he launched a scathing attack on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s foreign policy and demanded that normalization with Bashar is necessary.

"Turkey should hold talks at the official level with Syria as soon as possible," Kilichdaroglu said.

He asked: "Why do we not have an ambassador in Damascus? Why do we hold indirect talks through Russia? The territorial integrity of Syria is in Turkey's interest, and the only solution to the Syrian crisis lies in negotiating with the Assad regime and sitting with him at the negotiating table. Assad won the internal war in his country, and the talk with him will bring great benefits to our country."

Kilichdaroglu's words completely contradict the position of President Erdogan, who has been attacking Assad, describing him as a "tyrant, terrorist and butcher."

Erdogan said earlier: "The path can never be continued with Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Why? Because it is not possible to go with someone who killed nearly a million of his own people."

Reconciliation with the head of the Syrian regime represents a well-established doctrine in the mindset of Kilichdaroglu and his party, and it came to the point on March 6, 2020, that the head of the regime, Bashar al-Assad, sent a special invitation to the head of the Republican People’s Party to visit Damascus.

At the time, Syrian state television described Kilichdaroglu as a friend and close ally of Bashar al-Assad, and stated that most Turkish opposition parties, especially the Republican People's Party, tended to normalize with Damascus.

This prompted the Turkish journalist writer, Mehmet Agat, to publish a special article on that matter, dated June 28, 2021, on the Turkish newspaper, Yeni Shafak, under the title “Assad’s Love.”

Agat said: "While Assad was and continues to commit his massacres in Syria, why did Kilichdaroglu show solidarity from the heart of Turkey with this regime constantly?"

He added: "In February 2020, just minutes before the martyrdom of 33 of our soldiers, the head of the Republican People's Party said, in a live broadcast: (Assad's soldiers are protecting Turkish soldiers in Idlib at the moment)."

He stated, "On the other hand, we find that al-Assad's men in Syria expressed their desire to host our ally, the leader of the Republican People's Party, in Damascus! To the extent that they offered him an official invitation to do so."

 

Both from Alawite Sect 

The sectarian dimensions of 's with cannot be separated from as both belong to the.

It is necessary to mention that Kemal Kilichdaroglu and Bashar al-Assad are both from the Alawite sect. A point that can shed light on the interconnectedness between them.

Kilichdaroglu was born on December 17, 1948, in the town of Nazim in the province of Tunceli (eastern Anatolia) in Turkey, to a family of the "Alawite sect" whose origins go back to Khorasan in Iran, while Bashar al-Assad is of an Alawite family, descended from Qardahah in Latakia.

Kilichdaroglu has led the Turkish opposition since 2010, as the head of its largest party, and is known internally for his strong anti-AKP stances and successive governments.

He also strongly opposes the party's foreign policies, especially on the issue of opening up to the Middle East and the Arab world.

On the external level, he is described as a friend of the Syrian regime, which due to his Alawite Shiite sectarian background, according to observers. He has a strong relationship with the regime in Iraq and Iran.

The Republican People's Party, which has a left-wing orientation, has stated its opposition to the Syrian revolution since its outbreak in 2011.

At the beginning, the party affirmed its support for the regime in Syria, where several photos of party representatives who visited Bashar al-Assad, and took pictures beside him, indicated that the party was standing with him.

The Republican People's Party officials shouted out the necessity of dialogue with Assad and opening direct channels of communication with him in order to find a solution in Syria.

The People's Party criticizes Turkey and Erdogan's policy of receiving Syrians, as well as the decision to give them the Turkish citizenship them.

Kemal Kilichdaroglu and his party officials have repeatedly pledged to return the Syrians to their country if their party wins the upcoming elections.

In the Turkish presidential elections in 2018, the Republican People's Party candidate, Muharrem Inje, said about the presence of Syrians in his country: "We will send the Syrians back to their country."

It is the consistent discourse emanating from the Republican People's Party and its leader, who represent the biggest obstacle to the Syrian refugees in the Turkish neighbor, and they are the main reason for their fears, and for stirring up strife against them.