Turkey's Demirtas: 'Erdogan Is Capable of Setting Country on Fire'

[unhappycamper]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/kurdish-leader-demirtas-calls-for-ceasefire-with-turkey-a-1046263.html



In a SPIEGEL interview, leading Kurdish opposition politician Selahattin Demirtas calls for a cease-fire between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Kurdistan Workers' Party

Turkey's Demirtas: 'Erdogan Is Capable of Setting Country on Fire'
Interview Conducted By Hasnain Kazim
July 31, 2015 – 06:50 PM

~snip~

SPIEGEL: Mr. Demirtas, your success two months ago gave hope to many people in- and outside of Turkey, who hailed it as a milestone for democracy. But today, the country threatens to return to civil war-like conditions. How could it come to this?

Demirtas: The AKP, the party of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has brought about this situation deliberately. Until the elections in June, they had ruled Turkey unilaterally for more than a decade. But they weren't able to block our ascent to power any longer, so they opted to foment chaos in the country instead. This is the only possible explanation for their war against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

SPIEGEL: You go so far as to claim that the attack by the terrorist militia Islamic State in Suruc, in which 32 people were killed, was instigated by the government as a pretext for armed conflict. Do you have any proof?

Demirtas: If by that you mean documents that prove that the state was involved then, no, we don't. But there are clear indications. Our research suggests that this attack by IS was made possible by the AKP government, which for years tolerated the extremists' activities in Turkey.