A large crowd gathered to hear Kılıçdaroğlu speak in Tunceli on Thursday, as opposed to a small group of CHP supporters who had gathered to hear Baykal speak when he visited four years ago during the 2007 election campaign. The mood of the crowd, cheering in excitement, was also noticeably different, as Baykal had had to deal with protestors during his visit and even endure some booing as he spoke four years ago.
Residents of Tunceli didn't ignore Kılıçdaroğlu because he is one of their own. Kılıçdaroğlu for the first time spoke out loud about his identity, in response to criticism from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that he never mentions his own Alevi background, saying: “I am proud to be from Tunceli. I would never deny where I come from.”
The successful rally is in striking contrast to a visit from Baykal in 2007, when a group of protestors had accused Baykal of being behind the 1993 Sivas massacre in which a religious mob had attacked a hotel where the participants in an Alevi festival were staying. When the angry mob set the hotel afire, 36 Alevis were burned to death. The attack is today believed to have been largely organized by what is generally referred to in Turkey as the “deep state,” which includes usually nationalist gangs nested within the state hierarchy that often take the law into their own hands or carry out sensational demonstrations or even attacks to manipulate public opinion in ways they hope will be in accordance with their goals.
