GroenLinks drops councilor over support for Erdogan

GroenLinks city councilor in Gorinchem Ilhan Tekir was put out of the faction for expressing support for the AK Party and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the media. "Support for the AK Party is diametrically opposed to the views of GroenLinks", national party chairman Marjolein Meijer said in a statement on Thursday, NU.nl reports. Early last month Tekir spoke to the Volkskrant and expressed his support for Erdogan. In July a failed military coup in Turkey resulted in thousands of suspected Erdgan opponents arrested and increasing tensions in the Turkish community in the Netherlands. Following Tekir's interview with the newspaper, GroenLinks had "intensive talks" with him. "In those interviews it was revealed that no agreement could be reached with Ilhan on how to deal with the consequences (of his support for the AK party). That means, as far as we're concerned that he can no longer function as a councilor for GroenLinks", the Gorinchem faction said. Tekir was put out of the faction and asked to give up his seat on the city council. Tekir is outraged by the decision. "I'm at a loss for words", he writes on Twitter. "Without mercy, without decent conversation, without hearing both sides, put out of the faction." A spokesperson for the national party told NU.nl that in principle Tekir can remain a GroenLinks member. And that Dutch supporters of the AK Party are still welcome in GroenLinks. "We are not thought police for the members", the spokesperson said. He added that representatives, however, are expected to live out GroenLinks ideas - left-wing, secular and human rights - which are diametrically opposed to the views of Erdogan's party 0 right-wing, conservative, with little regard for human rights