An opposition protest march winding its way from Ankara to Istanbul is now entering its final stretch.<br /><br />Tens of thousands have taken part in the so-called “march for justice”, which began on June the 15th. <br /><br />Opposition figure Sezgin Tanrıkulu, an Istanbul MP for the CHP party, told Euronews: “The arrest of an MP was the straw that broke the camel’s back. That’s why we started this movement. <br /><br />“From the beginning we said this is not just about our party (CHP), this is for everyone who is seeking justice.” <br /><br />“There are many deputies, mayors, journalists and academics in jail,” he said. “Thousands of victims.” <br /><br />“Of course there are state of emergency measures that allow these situations. We started this march for the victims of these actions. And we have support from different sectors.”<br /><br />The controversial purge in Turkey, which followed a failed coup last summer, has resulted in the sackings and suspensions of tens of thousands of people and thousands of arrests in the public service, police and academic institutions.<br /><br />The marchers accuse the government of trying to create a one-party state in the wake of the coup attempt.<br /><br />Tanrıkulu told Euronews: “Of course, we know we won’t have democracy and justice in Turkey at the end of this march. <br /><br />But we’ll continue to protest against this anti-democratic way that Turkey is going, in the parliament, in the streets, every civilian platform, without violence, in a peaceful way.”<br /><br />The head of the opposition CHP party has lodged an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights over a vote that granted President Erdogan more powers in April.<br /><br />Members of the pro-Kurdish HDP party, the third largest in parliament, also joined the march this week.<br /><br />The proetst was organised after the jailing of the MP Enis Berberoglu for 25 years on charges of espionage. <br /><br />The politician was the first MP jailed in the government crackdown in the wake of the coup.<br />
