Scores of protesters rallied outside London’s Chatham House as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the capital. They were faced by the president’s security detail, British police and a handful of pro-Erdogan activists.
The rival demonstrators exchanged chants with the anti-Erdogan protesters who denounced the Turkish leader as a “terrorist.” Some in the crowd waved the flag of the People's Protection Units (YPG), the Kurdish dominated Syrian militia that has fought against IS (Islamic State, formerly ISIS) and now faces off against Turkish forces.
The counter-protesters waved Turkish flags and, in turn, branded the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) as “terrorists.” Turkey accuses the YPG of being the same as the PKK, the Kurdish organization that has been in an on-off armed conflict with the Turkish state since 1984.
Erdogan started his three-day visit to the UK by attending a lunch organized by the British Turkish Tatlidil forum. Later this week, he will be meeting Prime Minister Theresa May and Queen Elizabeth II.
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