ANTIOCH, (SANA) – The Turkish authorities on Sunday prevented thousands of Turkish citizens from various citizens from reaching the squares of Antioch to protest their government's hostile policies towards Syria.

Despite this, a number of citizens managed to reach the gathering areas, voicing surprise over how Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan can make statements about freedom and democracy while preventing them from expressing their opinions.

The participants said that this gathering aims at preserving the fraternity between the Syrian and Turkish people instead of creating strife and bringing about war, stressing that the Turkish people and the political forces opposing Erdogan's government support their Syrian brethren.

They also called upon their country's government to cease its constant hostile campaigns against Syria

Member of the Turkish Communist Party, Salih Bostanci, said "while Libyan murderers and criminals wander around our country and use its facilities and hotels, we couldn't go to Antioch just for the sake of peace… we were met by security terrorism without any legal justification… our busses were confiscated, and their drivers and a number of colleagues were arrested."

H. Sabbagh