ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Turkey’s ruling and opposition parties condemned on Thursday the attack on the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party’s (HDP) office in Izmir, which occurred on the same day and led to the death of one person. “We condemn the attack and murder that took place at the HDP provincial building in Izmir. Turkey will never give an opportunity for provocations to try to disrupt its peace and security,” Omer Celik, a deputy to the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said in a tweet. Erdogan is also the president of the country. He added both security forces and the judiciary will reveal all details of the incident. The HDP earlier in the day blamed both the AKP and its ultra-nationalist ally, the Nationalist Movement Party, for the death of HDP party member Deniz Poyraz. “The instigator and abettor of this brutal attack is the AKP-MHP government and the Ministry of Interior, which constantly targets our party and our members,” the HDP announced in a statement on Twitter. The MHP has not commented on the incident so far. The AKP and MHP are vocal opponents of the HDP and many of their officials see the pro-Kurdish party as the political wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) - a Kurdish armed group which struggles for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey. Ankara sees the PKK as a terrorist organization. Both the AKP and MHP have called for the closure of the party. The Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the IYI Party - two key opposition parties - also condemned the deadly attack. Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the CHP, condemned the attack, saying “We have experienced this scenario before.” Kilicdaroglu himself was attacked by an angry crowd in 2019 while attending a soldier’s funeral. Officials from other opposition parties have come under attack as well. “Those who are interested in fishing in murky water should make up their minds,” said Meral Aksener, leader of the IYI Party, in a tweet condemning the attack. The alleged perpetrator, has been arrested and was identified by the Izmir governor’s office as a former health worker with the initials OG, opened fire on the second floor of the building housing the HDP office and killed Deniz Poyraz. Mithat Sancar, HDP co-chair, told reporters that the attack was “cowardly” and it was committed against the whole party, not only Poyraz. “Dear Deniz, we promise to keep your memory alive and to continue your honorable and beautiful struggle.”
