AFP
Ankara
Twin bomb attacks hit the regional headquarters of Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish party in two cities yesterday, injuring more than half a dozen people and escalating tensions ahead of June 7 legislative elections.
Six people were injured in the blast at the office of the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) in the southern city of Adana caused by a suspect parcel, three of them seriously, a party official told AFP.
A bouquet of flowers sent to the party’s office in the nearby city of Mersin also exploded, the official said.
The HDP’s co-chairman Selahattin Demirtas was due to address a rally in Mersin on Monday evening and the party said there was no suggestion of him cancelling the event.
The government immediately condemned the bombings, with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu pledging to bring the perpetrators to justice.
“I strongly condemn this attack,” Davutoglu told a rally in the city of Karaman in central Turkey.
Davutoglu said he gave a “clear instruction” for a full-scale investigation.
But he warned against any smear campaign to discredit his ruling party after some HDP figures blamed the government for the attacks.
“We have stood against violence since the very beginning. God willing, we will march into June 7 in peace,” he said.
But in a public rally in the Black Sea city of Samsun, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lambasted the HDP for its links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which has waged an armed insurgency in the southeast for Kurdish autonomy.
He urged voters to steer clear of the party in the polls.
“I am appealing to all of Turkey: Turks, Kurds, Arabs, Circassians, Abkhazians – whoever comes to mind – will 78mn of you give the right response to the political organisation that is guided by a terrorist group?” he said.
His spokesman Ibrahim Kalin strongly denounced the explosions and dismissed accusations targeting the government as “unacceptable”.
The attacks were the latest in a string of violence against HDP targets in the run-up to an increasingly tense election.
In April, unidentified assailants opened fire on the HDP headquarters in the capital Ankara, with no casualties. The government condemned that attack as a blow to Turkey’s democracy and stability.
The HDP is seeking in the election to clear the 10% quota to take seats in the parliament.
Its success could dent the ruling AKP party’s plans to reach a thumping majority in the 550-seat parliament in order to change the constitution and create a presidential system.
Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan said this month it would be “super” if the pro-Kurdish HDP failed to clear the 10% threshold.
Seventy-three attacks have targeted the HDP offices throughout Turkey since April, according to a party report sent to AFP.