PKK should apologize, says Demirtaş

“We want to state that we don’t and will not accept this act and we condemn it,” said Demirtaş at the parliamentary group meeting of his party in Ankara on May 17, adding that such an attack can have “no reasonable or legitimate justification.”

“I found the statements of the ones who claimed the attacks irresponsible. What should be done in such a situation is to help bring to light those responsible and apologize. Any other excuse cannot be accepted. The HDP has never been silent over the killing of civilians in this way and it will not stay silent,” he added, after reading the names of the 16 people who lost their lives in the PKK attack.

Stressing that the HDP “does not want” the current war in a number of urban areas in southeast Turkey, Demirtaş said his party had “tried to put forward democratic politics in order to prevent the deaths of civilians.”

Sixteen civilians were killed and 23 people were wounded after a massive bombing by the PKK in a village in Diyarbakır late on May 12. 

In a statement, the PKK said the explosion was “accidental,” claiming the vehicle exploded when anti-PKK villagers opened fire on the truck.

The group said the explosives were meant to be transferred to another location and not detonated.