Crowds gather in Istanbul for massive pro-Erdogan rally

Source: Deutsche Welle

Crowds on Sunday gathered in Istanbul's Yenikapi parade ground for a massive rally that caps nightly demonstrations aimed at showing solidarity with the country's democracy in the wake of a failed coup.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is expected to be in attendance, urged participants of the "Democracy and Marty's Rally" to bring the Turkish flag instead of party banners. "There we will stand together as a single nation, a single flag, a single motherland, a single state, a single spirit," he said.

Flyers were distributed overnight, offering free public transport to the event. "The triumph is democracy's, the squares are the people's," the flyer said.

Two of Turkey's three opposition parties were expected to have representatives in attendance. The pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party (HDP) was, however, not invited.

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