Turkish opposition's 'Justice March' ends with mass rally in Istanbul

A so-called "Justice March" launched by Turkey's main

opposition party from Ankara on Sunday culminated in a mass rally in

Istanbul, in which the party's leader put forth 10-point demands

including lifting the state of emergency enforced in the wake of a coup

attempt in July last year.

Over one million people

carrying national flags and banners reading "justice" joined the rally

in Maltepe district on the Asian side of Istanbul called for by the

Republican People's Party (CHP).

Addressing the throng, CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said his 25-day march is the first stage of a long campaign.

Kilicdaroglu and his followers started their

Ankara-Istanbul march that stretches some 450 km on July 15, right after

CHP lawmaker Enis Berberoglu was convicted and imprisoned by an

Istanbul court over espionage charges.

The CHP argued

that Berberoglu's imprisonment was the last straw in the continuing

crackdown launched after the July 15 coup bid, in which 249 people were

killed.

In his rally speech, Kilicdaroglu called on the

government to abolish "any and all forms of guardianship over the

democratic parliamentary system."

"Rights, law and justice!" shouted the crowds repeatedly.

The

post-coup crackdown has put more than 50,000 Turks in jail and over

100,000 public servants dismissed from their posts, according to press

reports.

Kilicdaroglu read out a list of 10-point demands, vowing

continued struggle until they are met. The 68-year-old was asking for,

among others, information on the "political leg" of the failed coup,

returning authority to the parliament, lifting the state of emergency,

and releasing jailed lawmakers and journalists.

The

CHP has been resisting a referendum held on April 16, citing the

acceptance of unstamped ballots and other alleged frauds in the votes

that paved the way for Turkey to introduce a powerful presidency.

"This is the most beautiful, sincere and most honest

protest I have ever seen in Turkey," Demet Incemehmetoglu, a

65-years-old woman, said of the CHP's long-distance march which had

drawn repeated denunciations from top government officials.

Another in the rally described the march as "the humblest way of protest so far in Turkey."