The AK Party mayor defended the opening of Burger King with a poem associated with Erdoğan.

Due to supporting Israel, which massacres innocent civilians in Gaza, the fast food chain Burger King, which has been boycotted across the country, faced significant backlash when AK Party mayors attended the opening of its branch in Rize. While the repercussions of the incident continue, AK Party Rize Provincial Chairman Yılmaz Katmer made a statement that is expected to attract much attention.

"I CANNOT CHEER FOR THREE AND A HALF BASELESS PEOPLE"

Responding to criticisms directed at them through the poem "I cannot applaud oppression" by Mehmet Akif Ersoy, which President Erdoğan has occasionally recited, Katmer stated, "Those who lynch us, those who call us Israeli servants and Jewish servants will understand this with what I am about to read. All speeches are within this. Mevlâna says; my silence is my nobility. I certainly have a response to every word, but I look at the word to see if it is a word and I also look at the speaker to see if he is a person... This is one... Two; I cannot applaud oppression, I can never love the oppressor. I cannot go back and curse the past for the pleasure of the incoming. I cannot boast after three and a half baseless people. Especially for the sake of justice, I cannot worship injustice even if I die. Since the day I was born, I have been in love with independence. The golden tulip has never put a leash on me, I am gentle, but who said I am a docile sheep... This is my answer to all the things that have been done."

"WE STAND BEHIND ALL OUR FRIENDS"

When a journalist said, "There were AKP mayors at the opening, they cut the opening ribbon," Katmer simply replied, "May your Friday be blessed." When the journalist repeated the question, Katmer said, "I am the Provincial Chairman of the AK Party. We stand behind all our friends, friends. We stand firmly behind them. They cannot see any of our friends as pro-Israel. I mean, we consider it a disgrace to say that we are not on the side of Palestine, including one of our members, we carry that on our foreheads, may your Friday be blessed."