Turkey: Ultra-nationalist leader praises Kurdish Islamist party

The leader of the far right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) declared his approval for a Kurdish Islamist party's participation in the ruling People's Alliance.

Huda Par (the Free Cause Party), who has its roots in the Hezbollah group (not related to the Lebanese Shia organization by the same name) that is held responsible for the murder of over 500 Kurdish political activists during the 1990s and for the assassination of the police chief of Diyarbakir Gaffar Okkan in 2001, earlier announced that it will support Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the coming presidential race and that its parliamentary candidates will run under Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Huda Par also advocates federalism and the recognition of Kurdish language as one of the official languages.

MHP leader Devlet Bahceli said in a written statement on Sunday:

"The Free Cause Party has totally rejected terrorism and made it very clear that it has no links to any illegal organization. This attitude and stance is sufficient and precious for both the Nationalist Movement Party and for the People's Alliance."

Targeting the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Bahceli said:

"The HDP that is the political wing of separatism and terrorism, who is engaged in plans to topple our 100-year-old Republic and who recklessly announces it, has finally said yes to its wedding with the abomination alliance [reference to the opposition Nation Alliance]."

The People's Alliance currently consists of AKP, MHP, BBP (ultra-nationalist Great Unity Party), YRP (Islamist New Welfare Party) and Huda Par.

Roots of MHP

MHP and its Grey Wolves are held responsible for the murder of thousands of people in 1970s, journalists, academicians, political figures, union leaders, activists, students among them, and for mass murders like the Maras Massacre of 1978 at which over 105 Alevis and leftists were killed and at least 1,000 were injured.

Bahceli is currently in alliance with Turkish mafia bosses, including the biggest one Alaattin Cakici, and Kursat Yilmaz who Bahceli hailed as a "hero."

Bahceli is also yet to respond to accusations concerning the assassination on 30 December of former grey Wolves leader Sinan Ates, who had been removed from his post by Bahceli for unknown reasons. MHP officials are implicated in the assassination that is seen by many as the result of internal strife within MHP.