HDP co-chairs Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar said that they did not and will not forget the massacres like Sivas and Çorum.

In a written statement the co-chairs recalled how “during the Pir Sultan Abdal Festival held in Sivas on 2 July 1993, 33 people were burned to death in the Madımak Hotel. Despite the fact that those responsible for the massacre had made their intentions clear weeks before the massacre, the State simply ignored the threats.”

The statement continued: “The injustices after the Sivas massacre have increased the pain of this massacre even further. Some of the Sivas murderers were taken out of the country, waving their hands, despite the arrest warrants. And most recently, one of the Sivas killers in prison was pardoned by the AKP President who considered his age and health problems, while thousands of ill prisoners are left to die in prison.”

The statement added: “It has been 40 years since the Çorum massacre, which lasted for a month and a half between 27 May and 10 July 1980. This massacre resulted in dozens of lives lost and hundreds injured. Many had to flee. According to official figures, 57 people died in the Çorum massacre. Workplaces and homes of leftists and Alevis were looted.”