12,750 members resign from İYİ Party in Diyarbakır after MP’s departure

12,750 İYİ Party members have resigned from the party in Diyarbakır, the province head announced. The move came after MP Salim Ensarioğlu’s resignation from the party after facing a disciplinary action regarding his remarks in favor of Sheikh Said.

Sunday December 17 2023 02:50 pm

Duvar English

Turkish right-wing opposition İYİ (Good) Party Diyarbakır head Vecdin Ensarioğlu on Dec. 16 announced the resignation of 12,750 members, including himself and district heads, following lawmaker Salim Ensarioğlu’s departure from the party.

In a statement, Vecdin Ensarioğlu said there was no place for them in the party after lawmaker Ensarioğlu’s departure.

“Unfortunately, the İYİ Party could not tolerate free and independent views. We want the whole public to know that we are against the lynching campaign that started upon against lawmaker Ensarioğlu),” he added.

The move came one day after Salim Ensarioğlu announced his resignation from the party following his remarks regarding Sheikh Said, a controversial Kurdish figure of the early Republican period.

After the trustee mayor of southeastern Diyarbakır province named a street after Sheikh Said, a new row between the government and the opposition started in Turkey.

The İYİ Party on Dec. 12 initiated a disciplinary action against Ensarioğlu who deemed Sheikh Said “One of the most important values of our region.”

Sheikh Said was executed in 1925 after facing a trial in the Independence Tribunal for leading a Kurdish nationalist rebellion against the newly-founded Republic.