Former CHP deputy shares footage of Erdoğan's massive security convoy

Duvar English

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was noted to have employed hundreds of police officers, ambulances, and private security for a convoy that accompanied him out of the Antalya Airport on June 18. 

Former main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Berhan Şimşek slammed the excessive use of public resources in a video of the passage, saying that his phone battery would likely run out before he could film the end of the convoy.

Şimşek counted 60 security cars in the convoy and figured that about 500 officers must have been employed for the president's protection upon his return from Azerbaijan.

"People are out there chasing onions, potatoes, and 2,825 Turkish Liras for minimum wage, but I can't even count the number of vehicles here," the former deputy is heard saying in the video.

Şimşek also noted that he had been forced to wait an hour and walk 500 meters with his suitcases upon leaving his plane from the VIP section as a result of the president's intensive security protection. 

"If you dropped a handful of dirt, it would land on security forces," Şimşek said. 

The president spent 223 million Turkish Liras on personal protection in 2020, Şimşek said, adding that the presidency owns a total of 16 planes in a country where the public suffers from extreme poverty. 

The president and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) are often criticized for excessive spending, most notably on the expenses of his presidential palace in Ankara that costs millions of liras in daily spending.

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