Tribes in eastern Turkey condemn PKK assasinations

By Yahya Sezgin and Sener Toktas

MUS, Turkey (AA) – Age-old tribes rooted in Turkey’s eastern provinces Thursday spoke in unison to condemn recent terrorist attacks on politicians and civilians.

Representatives of large tribes told Anadolu Agency how the assassinations committed by the outlawed terrorist PKK were abominable.

Giyaseddin Seckin, representing the Bidri tribe in the eastern Mus province, said that any attack on the staff of any political party must be condemned without discrimination.

“Killing political party officials ... Hindering them by armed force and pressure, that is disgusting,” Seckin stated.

He added that the PKK has a Marxist-Leninist mentality which is alien to the Kurds, a pious people.

Nurul Emin Yamac, from the Sason tribe, also condemned the PKK assassinating politicians seeking to promote the public interest in the region, calling such violence a crime against humanity.

“They are slaughtering those who are not with them,” he stressed, adding, “We reject all terrorist organizations.”

Yamac also cited the Quran, saying that it “rejects racism. … All people are our brothers,” accusing the PKK of being racist.

-Learn lessons from the past

Turan Sume from the Bekiran tribe praised the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, saying, “We want peace, we want the nation's prosperity. The AK Party government has done great things for 13 years.”

“If you advocate someone’s rights, you do not kill others,” he said, adding that the PKK is being used as a pawn in the region.

He also stated that problems should be resolved through political and democratic means, as through parliament.

Nisamettin Yakisik, general secretary of the Madrasah Scholars Foundation located in the eastern Bitlis province, stressed that to date many similar methods have been deployed to bring down the community but so far none has been successful.

“Our wish is to take steps to avoid a repetition of massacres by drawing lessons from the past,” he said.

Ferzende Aras, a notable from the Zaza community in the Mus province, stressed that people in the region and the state organs should stick with each other.

Aydin Mustu, the ruling AK Party’s deputy chairman in the eastern Van province’s Ozalp district, was killed by suspected PKK terrorists on Oct. 9.

The next day a district AK Party politician was shot dead by PKK terrorists in Dicle, in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir.

Both Diyarbakir and Van, which lie some 300 kilometers (185 miles) apart, have been hit by numerous PKK attacks since the group – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU – resumed its 30-year armed campaign in July 2015.

* Ilker Girit contributed to this story from Istanbul