Erdogan invited the girl on stage last Saturday during a televised meeting for his Islamist-rooted Justice and Development
Party, in support of his military actions against Kurds in Syria.
The girl was sobbing as she walked towards the
podium. Erdogan kissed her on both cheeks and indicated a Turkish flag in her pocket. "If
she is martyred, a flag will be put on her, God willing," he says to the
crowd. "She is ready for everything, isn't she?"
Veli Agbaba, deputy chairman of the main opposition CHP, said:
"Bringing a little child to the stage in front of thousands of people and
blessing death is a big mistake. "Children should never be in the shadow of weapons and
should not be the face of wars."
Erdogan has previously said he wants to raise a "pious
generation." The curriculum in religious vocational schools this year
introduced the concept of jihad as being about patriotism.
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