Erdogan arrives at pro-democracy rally in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the leaders of Turkey’s prominent political parties arrived at the Democracy and Martyrs’ Rally in Istanbul on Sunday.

Erdogan’s helicopter arrived in Yenikapi, on the city’s European side, after Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, who is also the leader of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party.

The rally, which is being held to mark the defeat of the July 15 coup, will also be addressed by opposition leaders Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and Devlet Bahceli, head of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

Parliament Speaker Ismail Kahraman will also speak at the event, which is expected to draw hundreds of thousands and is being mirrored by rallies in cities across Turkey.

Former President Abdullah Gul, former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Chief of the General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar also arrived at the Istanbul rally.

Celebrities such as world motorcycling champion Kenan Sofuoglu are also attending.

The rally was set up under the aegis of the president’s office and organized by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality together with the governor.

The Yenikapi event will mark the end of weeks of “democracy watch” rallies held in cities across the country since the defeated coup, in which 240 people were killed and nearly 2,200 injured.

A stage, television screens and sound systems have been erected in the area and heightened security has seen bag checks and searches carried out at the rally’s entrance points and a police helicopter hovering overhead.

Large numbers of police and security personnel were on duty for the cross-party event.

Political flags and banners have been banned from the event to underline the political consensus against the coup attempt.

Ambulances and more than 700 medics are on duty.

The government has repeatedly said the coup attempt was organized by followers of Fetullah Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. since 1999.