Alevis protest ‘X’ marking of homes in central Istanbul

ISTANBUL – Doğan News Agency

CİHAN photo

Alevi organizations have issued a joint press statement after the threatening recent “X” marking of a number of Alevi homes in Istanbul’s Üsküdar district, saying “a country where Alevis are threatened will be safe for no one.” 

The press statement was attended by members of the Peoples’ Democratic Party’s (HDP) Istanbul provincial branch and representatives of several Alevi and Bektashi organizations.

“No one should forget that if Alevi homes catch fire it will burn everyone. A country where Alevis are threatened will be safe for no one. We side with peace rather than war,” said Ali Soysüren on Aug. 11, after the marking of several Alevi homes in Üsküdar’s Kirazlıtepe neighborhood, speaking on behalf of the Democratic Alevi Associations, the Alevi Culture Associations, the Haji Bektashi Veli Foundation and several other Alevi organizations.

Alevi-Bektashi Federation Deputy Head Ali Özcan said they had adapted to live “in solidarity and unity with all peoples of Turkey,” stressing that Alevis would “not be provoked” by such incidents and would “always side with peace.”

HDP Istanbul Deputy Ali Kenanoğlu said attacks targeting Alevis in Turkey since the beginning of the conflict in neighboring Syria in 2012 had become “systematic.”

“Alevis will continue to panic until those who have marked Alevi homes are identified. These markings are not just a casual incident,” said Kenanoğlu, adding that the outside of hundreds of Alevi homes have been marked with paint up to now.

Ali Ekber, an Üsküdar local whose home was recently marked, expressed his concern over the incident.

“I heard the alarm at around 7 a.m. and got up. I saw a black package outside my home. I told my wife and then we informed the police. The police detonated the package with a fuse before we saw four other homes with ‘X’ marks on their doors. We are worried,” said Ekber.