Osman Kor, aged 45, said he was attending because Kemal Kilicdaroglu, head of the secular Republican People's Party (CHP), was attending. The CHP hosted a mass pro-democracy rally last month on Istanbul's Taksim Square which AKP supporters also attended in a show of patriotic post-coup unity. "I support the AKP but I am delighted that the MHP and CHP are supporting this huge rally." Erdogan retaliated after the coup with a sweeping crackdown on alleged coup plotters. God willing, this unity will last forever," said the AKP supporter who has also voted for the opposition CHP in the past.

Source: New Zealand Herald August 07, 2016 19:30 UTC