HDP co-chair Demirtaş: Turkish gov't can stop protests by vowing to confront ISIL

Deniz Zeyrek ANKARA

Demirtaş also directly called on protesters to avoid vandalism, following the recent deadly protests. AA Photo

The Turkish government could stop deadly protests around the country that have erupted in reaction to the jihadist advance on Kobane by vowing to confront the extremists and prevent the fall of the city, Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) co-leader Selahattin Demirtaş has said. Demirtaş also directly called on protesters to avoid vandalism.

The HDP leader said one of the reasons for the violent protests was the anger caused by the perceived inaction of the Turkish state over the ongoing peace process and developments in Kobane, a Kurdish town in Syria that is besieged by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants.

Demirtaş said Kurds in Turkey widely believe that Turkey is supporting ISIL militants, though the government has denied this.

“The government should say, ‘Kobane will not fall, we will not allow Kurds to be in the hands of ISIL barbarism,’ rather than saying ‘we will attack those who protest ISIL.’ If the government says it will confront ISIL, that will be enough to raise an atmosphere of peace once more,” he said.

Demirtaş added that the Kurds were angry with both the government’s inaction and the police’s fierce intervention in the protests.