HDP Peoples and Beliefs Commission co-chair Tülay Hatimoğulları issue a written statement on the 8th anniversary of the Reyhanlı Massacre.

The statement said: "We have not forgotten and will not forget this massacre in which 53 people were killed and 155 people were injured."

Hatimoğulları added: "The costs of the AKP government's war policy are being paid by the peoples of the region. The Reyhanlı massacre was the result of this policy. This massacre was like a staged script. The aim was to turn the peoples living in the region one against the other. It was obvious that the Sunni-Alevi conflict was aimed at being part of the Syrian war.”

The statement continued: “The killings carried out by al Nusra and ISIS within the borders of Turkey were not limited to the Reyhanlı massacre. Suruç, Ankara Station, Antep, were all massacres carried out within the same policy. The country was turned into a bloodbath. The government's cooperation with these organizations caused great suffering to the people in Turkey and the region. Although the support provided by the public officials / MIT to these massacres has been recorded in the court minutes, the instigators and the politicians responsible for them are still not under trial. The perpetrators of these massacres and how the massacres were planned have not been revealed."

Tülay Hatimoğulları said: "We should increase peace and brotherhood as well as solidarity against the conflict and dark policies that cause deep pain to the peoples. The HDP will continue to struggle for peace in Turkey and the Middle East, for the brotherhood and equality of the peoples. Our lands, tired of war, violence and conflict, deserved this."

Background

The 2013 Reyhanlı massacre happened on 11 May 2013. Two car bombs exploded in the town of Reyhanlı, 5 km from the Syrian border and the busiest land border post with Syria, in the province of Hatay. 53 people were killed and 155 injured in the attack.