ISTANBUL (A.W.)—An Armenian member of Turkey’s Parliament, Garo Paylan of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), said the target in the recent bombing in Suruc, Turkey, was the solidarity movement that links Turkey’s west—as many of those targeted in the attack hailed from Istanbul—and Kobane.
Speaking to the Turkish-Armenian weekly newspaper Agos following the HDP’s Istanbul Provincial Organization’s meeting, Paylan said that it is inconceivable that the authorities were unaware of the attack, in which more than 30 people were killed and around 100 were injured.
Paylan speaking to reporters outside of the HDP Istanbul headquarters (Photo: Agos)
The suicide bombing, which took place on July 20, targeted members of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP) Youth Wing and the Socialist Youth Associations Federation (SGDF). The young activists were giving a press statement on the reconstruction of Kobane when the bombing took place.
Until recently, Kobane was under siege by ISIS. Over 300 SGDF members had traveled from Istanbul to Suruc to help with rebuilding efforts in Kobane and were staying at Suruc’s Amara Cultural Center while preparing to cross the border into Syria.
“The state refuses to take a clear stance regarding ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and Syria]. As long as the perpetrators and their connections are not revealed, further attacks will be encouraged. It is inconceivable that Turkey’s comprehensive intelligence network was unaware of this attack,” said Paylan, who was in Suruc—a town in the Sanliurfa province, located approximately 10 kilometers north of Kobane, Syria—for two months during the Kobane resistance.
A picture taken just before the explosion, as tweeted by the SGDF (Photo: Twitter)
Paylan said that the courtyard where the attack took place was the location of the crisis center set up in the earlier days of the Kobane attacks. It is where many humanitarian workers had gathered and stayed for months during the Kobane resistance. “The young people targeted today were also on their way to Kobane to show solidarity in the reconstruction efforts of the town. This solidarity was targeted today. The target was the solidarity between Turkey’s west and Kobane.”
Demirtas Calls for Emergency Parliamentary Meeting, Criticizes AKP
In a press statement, HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş called for an emergency parliamentary meeting and criticized the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its policy on Syria. Demirtaş said that while members of ISIS “freely roam near the border,” humanitarian aid is not allowed to reach children and those most in need.
HDP co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş (right) and Figen Yüksekdağ during a press conference in Ankara on July 21 (Photo: Today’s Zaman/Ali Ünal)
“ISIS crosses the border, but toys can’t,” said Demirtaş, explaining that the targeted youth had brought toys and basic needs. “Trucks carrying weapons crossed Turkey’s border. The army of inhuman rapists—ISIS—freely roams near the border. However, toys carried by revolutionary young people couldn’t cross the border. These young people couldn’t cross the border but their message reached its destination,” said Demirtaş.
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