Press Roundup

Bugün: “Alevism not a religion,” headlined the paper’s major story, which reported on an interview with Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. “Alevism is a belief, a part of Islam. We believe in the same God, in the same Prophet, in the same [holy] book. Can it be a different religion? No. Furthermore, I don’t want religion to be used in political discourse. No one holds in their hand a scale that can measure another’s religiousness,” he told the daily. The CHP leader also suggested that political party leaders should not be candidates for the presidency. “This goes for me and for Mr. Tayyip,” he said, referring to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Sabah: “Fighters got the last gate,” read the headline of a front-page story by the daily that reported Syrian opposition groups had taken control of the last border gate into Turkish territory, at Bab al-Salam, that had remained under the control of the Syrian government. The Bab al-Salam border gate, north of Aleppo, was seized following fierce clashes. Syrian opposition fighters also took control of the main Abu Kamal border gate into Iraq on Thursday.

Yeni Şafak: The daily’s lead story was headlined “Campaigns for Arakan.” After more than a thousand were massacred in acts of violence targeting Rohingya Muslims in the Arakan state of western Myanmar, various NGOs and charity organizations in Turkey have called on all Muslims to help the Rohingya Muslims, who are not seen as citizens of Myanmar by nationalist Myanmar leaders, officials and extremist Buddhists, leaving them open to discrimination. The story stated that such charity groups as the Humanitarian Aid Foundation (İHH) and Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There) will send thousands of aid packages containing food and other basic needs to the Muslims in Arakan.