Rally Held in Istanbul against Turkish Gov’t’s Negotiation with PKK

More than 1,000 people rallied in central Istanbul’s Taksim Square on Sunday to protest against the Turkish government’s recent peace negotiation with the outlawed Kurdish Workers Party (PKK).

The protest was organized by a nationalist group called “Young Turks,” whose members, during the rally, shouted slogans like “The ruling party AKP collaborates with PKK,” “Turkey is Turks’ country, ” and “Long live our martyrs, our country will not be divided.”

The protesters started a march from Galatasaray High School and walked down the Istiklal Avenue, before stopping at the Republic Monument at the Taksim Square.

President of “Young Turks,” Mehmet Esen, criticized the visit by three pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) members, who met PKK’s jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan on Imrali Island on Saturday, saying it “is a shame for all Turks.”

Turkey has launched a comprehensive campaign to tackle the long- standing Kurdish issue, while Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan underlined that the government’s goal is to convince the PKK to lay down its arms.

However, the nationalists are against any peaceful negotiation with PKK and refused to recognize the Kurds’ rights.

Before BDP member visited Ocalan, violent protests were staged in Turkey’s Black Sea provinces of Sinop and Samsun against this delegation’s visit.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. Its members took up arms in 1984 in an attempt to create an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. Since then, over 35,000 people have been killed in conflicts involving the group.

The Kurds in Turkey represent almost 20 percent of the population. They live in all provinces of Turkey, but are primarily concentrated in the east and southeast of the country, which largely resembles the region of Kurdistan.

via Rally Held in Istanbul against Turkish Gov’t’s Negotiation with PKK.