Middle East matters – ‘I am Alevi’: Turkish presidential hopeful Kilicdaroglu breaks religious taboo in video
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The presidential election in Turkey is now less than a month away. Opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu is hoping to unseat Recep Tayyip Erdogan and polls show the 74-year-old is expected to win a majority of votes in the first round on May 14. In a video that has gone viral, Kilicdaroglu announced he was an Alevi, a member of Turkey’s main religious minority. Alevis are Muslims but are considered heretics by some Sunni hardliners. We take a closer look.
Elsewhere, Israel has marked Memorial Day in the run-up to its 75th anniversary of independence. This year’s commemorations remembering fallen soldiers and victims of terror attacks have taken place against a backdrop of deep political divisons. On Monday, thousands attended a joint Israeli-Palestinian memorial. The event, which has always stirred controversy, made headlines once again after Israel’s top court ordered authorities to allow 150 Palestinians to attend the ceremony in Tel Aviv, despite a government ban.
Robi Damelin, spokesperson for the Parents Circle Families Forum and the mother of a child killed by a Palestinian sniper, tells us more about the peace initiative.
Finally, a television series that aired during Ramadan had many in Syria glued to their TV screens. “Smile, General” is set in a fictional Middle Eastern country, but parallels are being drawn to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and his family, who have ruled the country for half a century. Filmed in Turkey, it stars exiled Syrian actors known for their opposition to the regime.
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