Sancar: Responsible for these attacks against the HDP is the government!

HDP co-chair Mithat Sancar blames the Turkish government for the armed attack on members of his party in Istanbul. On Tuesday at lunchtime, a man armed with two guns and a bread knife broke into the HDP office in the borough of Bahçelievler. It was only because his firearm failed that there were no deaths. A party employee and a party member were stabbed by the attacker, who managed to escape but was caught by the police a short time later.

After the incident, a large crowd gathered in a nearby square to protest the renewed attack on the HDP. Mithat Sancar traveled from Ankara and paid a visit to the HDP office in Bahçelievler. During the protest, the co-chair of the HDP referred to the anniversary of the Roboski massacre and the trial of the murderer of HDP employee Deniz Poyraz, which opens today in Izmir. He said:

“Responsible for these attacks are the government and its representatives and partners who identify the HDP as a target and spread hate speech every day. It is their inflammatory policies that prepare the ground for such attacks. It is their fear. They fear the HDP and incite mobs to attack us every day with new statements. We will make this policy fail; nobody should doubt that. The government representatives, and especially the interior minister, who attack us on television every day, are politically responsible for the attacks and will be held accountable.”

“This mentality must definitely be defeated”

Sancar called for a determined fight against the attacks on the HDP and greater solidarity. “We will bring all democratic forces together and stop the government and its racist policies and hate speech with a common struggle. It is imperative that this mentality be defeated. The government sees with mounting fear that it will lose. It knows that it is the HDP and a broad democratic alliance that works with us that will lead to its defeat. In fear of losing power, it will launch new plans to wreak havoc. We know that and we already said that when our comrade Deniz Poyraz was murdered. Due to the solidarity shown at the time, this plan could be stopped for the time being. Another attempt has now been made.

No provocation and no planned chaos can dissuade the HDP from its insistence on democratic politics. The efforts of the HDP to form a democracy alliance on a broad scale cannot be stopped. The HDP is struggling for a just peace that includes all groups in this country. We repeat this again to the whole of society on the occasion of this ugly attack. Pessimism, fear, worry, and hopelessness are inappropriate. It is the government that is gripped by fear. We will courageously continue our fight for peace, democracy and justice in this country.”