Turkey: Police officers on protection duty at opposition party's offices removed

The police officers who were assigned protection duty at the headquarters of the opposition Democrat Party (DP) in Turkey's capital have been withdrawn by the Police Department, who cited "personnel shortage," T24 reported on Monday.

The three officers on protection duty were replaced with a single police officer who has been instructed to "check" on both DP offices and the offices of the opposition Welfare Party, "for five minutes every day," T24 Said.

The two parties are part of a bloc of six opposition parties who are holding talks to compete in the coming elections under the Nation Alliance, established before the 2018 elections by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), the nationalist opposition Good Party, the Welfare Party and DP.

"The government officials are using a polarizing rhetoric and targeting at the opposition. They may think we will be intimidated, but our doors are wide open," DP's official Erkin Delikanli said.

Referring to Turkish president Recep tayyip Erdogan's recent use of an emblematic slogan created by DP's predecessor in 1950 ("Enough, it's time for the people to speak") Delikanli continued:

"Isn't it enough that you've stolen our slogan? Are you now pointing us as targets by removing the police officers on protection duty?"