Turkish political figures condemn Suruç attack

ANKARA

AP photo

A number of high profile Turkish political figures have condemned the suspected suicide bombing attack in Suruç in southern Turkey which has killed at least 28 and left 100 others injured, with the president calling the attack an “act of terror.”

“We are drowning in grief that 28 citizens died and a large number of people were injured as a result of an act of terror,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on July 20 during his visit to Turkish Cyprus. “On behalf of my people, I curse and condemn the perpetrators of this brutality,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Yalçın Akdoğan was the first senior government official to make a public statement concerning the attack, harshly condemning it in messages posted to his Twitter account.

“These terrorist attacks aimed at Turkey, our nation’s unity and integrity and serenity and peace will not achieve their goal in any way,” Akdoğan said, vowing “the state, the government and the nation” will foil the attacks.

“No terrorist attack can bring Turkey down and hit our unity and integrity. We will foil this dirty plot with common sense,” he said. 

Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu joined the condemnations of the deadly attack via his Twitter account.

“The treacherous attack in Suruç has burned our hearts. The grief of losing our young children is unspeakable. I condemn terror and those who support it,” said Kılıçdaroğlu. 

Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş called on his party’s provincial and district headquarters to “take their own security measures.”

“Now, our people are in the position of taking their own security,” Demirtaş told TV broadcaster Med Nuce on July 20. The HDP co-chair stressed the state has records on the young people who make press statements.

“The state knows who will come to the venue,” he said.

In a written statement, the HDP also condemned the incident and said the attack aimed to “break international solidarity for Kobane,” a nearby town across the border in Syria which has been rife with fighting in recent months.

Those who do not dare to speak against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) but everyday threaten the HDP are abettors of the attack, read the statement, accusing the Turkish government.  

The HDP is determined to carry out its principles for democracy, justice and peace at any price, said the HDP. 

The government should give political account for allowing bombers to hang around in Suruç, read the statement.

At a party meeting on July 21, the HDP will discuss taking its own measures for security of their facilities, said the statement.