Peoples' Democracy Congress (HDK) Co-Spokespersons Ertuğrul Kürkçü and Sebahat Tuncel, said that President Erdoğan and Prime Minister Davutoğlu were primarily responsible for the attack on HDP member Ahmet Karataş, as they were targeting the HDP every time they opened their mouths. Tuncel said: “It is the government which incited this attack by its use of hate speech against the HDP.” Kürkçü said: “This attack may be the first in a series of counter guerrilla attacks.”

Ertuğrul Kürkçü said the government had made the situation worse since the onset of the Kobanê crisis, and that it faced consequences it would not be able to control.

Similarities to the period that began with Santoru murder

Kürkçü said that after the recent National Security Council meeting the military were playing a more active role, and that this meant it was inevitable that there would be counter guerrilla involvement. He recalled the murder of the Catholic priest Santoro, which was the first in a series of murders.

Prime Minister and President are responsible

Kürkçü added that for Ahmet Davutoğlu to say: “We have not incited anyone”, was not true, and that he was primarily responsible for the attack. He added that the President had said: “If our patience runs out, you cannot even imagine the consequences.” Kürkçü said that therefore the government was responsible for creating the atmosphere in which the attack took place.

Kürkçü said that that Ahmet Karataş was an experienced political activist and had been deliberately targeted, adding that CCTV footage showed that the assailant was not an angry individual, but a cold-blooded attacker.

‘The government incited the attack’

HDK Co-Spokesperson MP Sebahat Tuncel said: “The government has made the situation worse by sending its nationalist supporters a message through the pressure it has put on us. Using hate speech against us and holding us responsible for the deaths that took place during protests prepared the ground for this attack. The government therefore incited this attack and it is unacceptable.”

Tuncel warned that placing the Kurdish question within the parameters of the National Security Council and security laws risked the entire process, adding: “This approach will ensure neither democracy, nor a process of resolution. It will only make things worse and lead to chaos.”

Tuncel said the government had no alternative to advancing the process of negotiation, calling on it to: “Take practical steps as soon as possible”.