HDP supporters attend a rally ahead of the June 7 elections.
Standing outside the hospital, Vaci Byram huddled with his friends in anguish.
Erdogan countered by accusing the leader of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, or HDP, Selahattin Demirtas, of instigating violence in October that was linked to events in Syria and in which dozens of people were killed. Hours after he arrived, his friends were rushed to the emergency after a blast erupted in the center of the gathering.
The presidency’s press office released a message after the attack, offering condolences to victims’ families and wished a speedy recovery to those injured. “But people in this country always make problems for the Kurds”. Police fired water cannon to disperse protesters who remained at the parade ground.
The HDP campaign has been the target of other attacks, including bombings at two local party headquarters which injured six people last month.
Erdogan is hoping the ruling AK Party he founded will win a crushing victory in Sunday’s parliamentary vote, allowing it to change the constitution and hand him broad presidential powers.
This would give him full authority over executive, legislative and judicial branches of the government.
To pass the change in parliament, he needs a majority of two thirds, or 367 seats, or 330 seats to put it to a referendum.
He said the newspaper had been campaigning against Turkey’s leaders going back to Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II, who ruled the Ottoman Empire during the final phase of its decline. Two vehicles belonging to the HDP came under attack this week in two separate incidents in eastern Turkey. “He ought to leave flowers where people were killed”. One person was killed during the raid. Police did not interfere, expect to protect the perpetrators. But Energy Minister Taner Yildiz later dismissed that, saying the blast was caused by an “external interference” with the power unit, though he didn’t say whether he believed a bomb was involved. “Our inspection has clearly showed that the source of the explosion was not the power distribution unit”.
“What are the chances that the electricity unit would explode minutes before Dermitash speaks?”
Chanting “Murderer Erdoğan”, hundreds marched behind a banner declaring “peace despite everything” to the scene, where they laid red carnations, a witness said.
Still, the HDP appears to be in position to seize a portion of the Turkish parliament. Yet with elections fast approaching, Erdogan has resorted to ultra nationalist and religious references to pry away conservative Kurdish voters.
“The responsible actions of people in Diyarbakir prevented a bigger massacre”, he said. “It’s normal”.
Demirtas urged for calm while describing the incident as an “attack” against his party. But with emotions running high, HDP supporters say they are anxious about what may unfold once election results are announced.
The most distinctive feature of Turkish elections is that parties need to cross a 10 percent threshold to be represented in parliament. “My only worry is the theft of votes”, social services worker Bahar Haram, 25, said, highlighting a fear of election fraud among some voters. For how long remains to be seen. “We do not want fighting between the PKK and the army”. “But Turkey will not be a democracy if HDP does not pass”.
