Demirtaş: Ağrı was a pre-planned, fake operation
ISTANBUL (DİHA) - HDP Co-president Selahattin Demirtaş made a speech at his party's rally at Kadıköy Square in Istanbul, saying what took place in Ağrı on 11 April was an election provocation by the AKP government.
The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Provincal Organization held an action of introducing candidates at Kadıköy Square in Istanbul which is turning into a massive rally with the participation of HDP Co-president Selahattin Demirtaş. HDP's Istanbul candidates including Pervin Buldan, Hüda Kaya, Garo Paylan, Ali Kenanoğlu, Levent Tüzel, Turgut Öker and Filiz Kerestecioğlu got on the election bus and saluted the crowds.
'There wasn’t a clash, there was a pre-planned, fake operation'
"There wasn’t a clash in Ağrı yesterday, there was a pre-planned, fake operation,” Demirtaş said yesterday in his party’s fist election rally in Istanbul’s Kadıköy district. “There were no ambulances, they carried the soldiers in bed sheets. There is footage of this incident.” Demirtaş underlined that the military was targetting a provocation. “It would be good if the General Staff stopped working for the AKP. The army is the country’s army, not one party’s. The General Staff is not a party running in the elections. It would be better if it did not make such speculative, election-related remarks,” Demirtaş added. The HDP co-chair vowed that his party will not be “provoked.”
'We will not allow any more bloodshed in this country'
“The soldiers sent to conduct operations on the PKK are our children, our brothers. Their lives are our lives. The PKK members you try to kill are the children of these people. We will not let them kill each other. We will not allow any more bloodshed in this country,” he said.
He condemns statement of governorate
Demirtaş said: "Every day they are losing votes. People do not believe them anymore. So what do they do? They do things like in Diyadin. In order to gain votes they pit soldiers against the PKK and use it as election propaganda at an election rally.” Demirtaş condemned the statement made by the governor of Ağrı, saying: "The PKK is on ceasefire. The soldiers know where they are. Then they set up an ambush and claim that the PKK were intending to force people to vote for the HDP.”
'To increase their vote they showed live coverage of military operation at rally’
Demirtaş said the news from Diyadin was serious, and that HDP former district co-chair Cezmi Budak had died. He added that the AKP had shown live coverage of the military operation at an election rally. He said the governing party wanted to use nationalism to secure votes, adding that this was a perilous thing to do.
'We will continue to call for peace'
Demirtaş said they would continue to call for peace, despite all manner of provocation. "The soldiers pitted against the PKK are our children, just as the PKK members are our brothers. All tyrants behave like this when they begin to lose power. There is a bloodbath in the Middle East,” he added, accusing the General Staff of carrying out fake operations in Siirt, Hakkari and Şırnak to benefit the AKP.
'They carried out operation after Bayık's statement’
Demirtaş recalled the previous day’s statement of KCK Co-president Cemil Bayık saying: "We don’t want to fight,” adding that the operation in Diyadin had come immediately after this. “They say: ‘don’t vote for a party that is nourished by arms, but it is the governing party that is nourished by arms,” said Demirtaş, who called on the mothers of police and soldiers to not be deceived by this propaganda. He asked them not to fall into the trap of polarisation and instead opt for peace.
The rally ended following dancing halays by thousands of people.
(nt)
