MHP leader denies involvement in attack on HDP office

Umut ERDEM ANKARA / Hürriyet

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli denies his party is involved in attacks on People’s Democratic Party (HDP) offices in three cities. AA Photo

The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has strictly denied any involvement with the attacks on the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) election office in the southwestern resort district of Fethiye.

“None of our friends were involved with the incident in Fethiye,” Bahçeli told daily Hürriyet on the way to Ankara following a rally in the Tokat province, saying those responsible might easily be found by following what was shared on the web, as the attack was said to be generated by social media.

“They provoke the people living there. These are provocations. We have no relation with these [incidents],” he said.

Bahçeli also said he gave instructions to his followers not to take part in any incident and not to be provoked.

A group of people marched to the HDP’s election office March 9 and removed the party’s sign from the building when tension escalated. The attack was the latest in a series of incidents that have targeted the HDP in the İzmir, Aksaray and Ordu provinces.

The HDP released a statement March 5, saying the party would begin providing “for its own security” if police failed to protect its campaign activities.