Those behind Paris murders should be exposed: HDP co-chair
A large gathering in Turkey's Kurdish-majority city of Batman on Sunday was attended by Mithat Sancar, the co-chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), who said they will not be intimidated by mass arrests and the closure case in Turkey's Constitutional Court.
The meeting, held against war and poverty, began with a moment for silence observed for those who died in the struggle for democracy and justice. Photos of three Kurds killed on Friday in Paris were carried by the demonstrators.
Speaking at the gathering, Sancar said that war plans were part of the government's policy of addressing the Kurdish question by violence, and that this was the "cement" for the ruling bloc in Turkey.
"They try to cling to power through a policy of war, dragging the country and the region into further darkness. Every day new sufferings are imposed, more lives lost. Policies of hostility and a mentality of hatred further impoverish the country."
He continued:
"Two days ago, three people were killed in Paris as a consequence of the climate of hatred and hostility that has been created (...) We call upon the French administration yet again. There are suspicions and question marks. We have not forgotten what happened 10 years ago. The fact that the assassination of three women has still not been solved raises further doubts. The French administration should shed light on the recent murders in a sincere and determined manner. Who were behind the murders, how was it carried out? It should be exposed so that those who feed on darkness cannot resort to such murderous acts again."
10 years ago, on 9 January 2013, three Kurdish women activists, Sakine Cansiz, Leyla Saylemez and Fidan Dogan were assassinated in Paris by a man who would later be captured and identified as Omer Guney. Guney died in December 2016 of a brain tumor, and the case was closed, although there were solid evidences which suggested that he may have acted on instructions of some state officials in Turkey.
