Last Tuesday, the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), which controls 27 seats in the Turkish Parliament, called on its supporters to take to the streets and protest the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government's policy on Syria and Iraq. The ensuing demonstrations resulted in 35 casualties, including two policemen, over the next three days. A total of 221 civilians and 139 members of the security forces suffered injuries, while protestors burned down 1,114 buildings and 11,179 vehicles were damaged. The emotional damage, of course, remains impossible to quantify. We must recall, though, that both sides agree on the fact that the actions of radicals, not the security forces, led to the casualties. How did this sad situation come about? Prior to answering this question it is important to understand why the HDP has become so aggressive over a non-domestic issue.Establishing a Kurdish stateThe HDP is sometimes thought of representing the political wing of the PKK, a separatist organization that has been fighting the Turkish state for the past three decades. In addition to Turkey, the PKK has a presence in Iran and Syria that collectively aim to establish a Kurdish polity on Turkish, Iranian, Syrian and Iraqi territories. The Democratic Union Party (PYD), which is currently fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) over the control of Kobani, a Syrian Kurdish border town, also represents part of the PKK establishment.Over the course of the Syrian civil war, the PYD, led by Salih Muslim, worked with the Bashar Assad regime to establish autonomous entities in Afrin, Kobani and Qamishlo in return for keeping silent about ISIS, and is an organization that sided with Damascus against moderate opposition groups. Today, the PKK leadership attributes great importance to this experiment with statehood - something that the organization failed to accomplish inside Turkey. Believing that the ongoing experiment will give the future state of Kurdistan the moral upper hand, the organization remains willing to derail the reconciliation process that put an end to its military struggle with Turkey and made it possible for the Kurdish community to attain various democratic rights.Blaming the Turkish governmentSuch grand ideas formed the basis of the HDP's call for resistance, which resulted in 35 casualties. The organization, however, likes to present this hardcore struggle for superiority as a humanitarian issue. Although some 200,000 civilians have escaped Kobani and sought refuge in Turkey, they claim that they defend the town to protect the civilian population. Meanwhile, U.N. officials agree with the Turkish government about the lack of civilians inside Kobani.The HDP and PKK leadership, however, criticize Turkey, a country that has welcomed 200,000 Syrian Kurds and treated wounded PYD fighters in its hospitals, for its unwillingness to provide weapons to their forces. Meanwhile, Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Masoud Barzani announced just two days ago that Turkey supplied weapons to help their forces fight ISIS. Moreover, the HDP accuses Turkey of assisting terrorists even though Turkish authorities have, according to U.S. sources, deported some 5,000 foreign fighters seeking to join the ranks of ISIS. On top of all this, the HDP leadership, which accuses the government of not helping the PYD against ISIS militants, recently voted against a government-sponsored motion in Parliament that gave Ankara the legal authority to hit ISIS targets and contribute to the international coalition. Why would a political party that demands Turkey fight ISIS more actively oppose potential military action against the same group?What would the West do?Seeking to position itself as the sole power to fight radical Islamists in the region, the HDP has been willing to sanction the death of 35 civilians on the streets. This strategy seeks to persuade the U.S. and EU to remove the PKK, whose war inside Turkey has led to 50,000 casualties over three decades, from their list of terrorist organizations. Meanwhile, the idea is to present Turkey, whose government only recently managed to secure the release 49 diplomatic staff from ISIS militants, as a country that supports radical Islamists. In this context, it is important to recall that Turkey identified ISIS as a terrorist organization as early as October 2013 and was the first nation to target the group's assets.Certain Western politicians who are inclined to mistake this fatal dream of the HDP and the PKK for a democratic struggle should put themselves in Turkey's shoes. Do they treat perpetrators of terrorist activities in their own countries as tolerantly as the PKK? What would they do if these organizations asked them to ignore international law and treaties to eliminate all border security? Considering that they would not even dare to entertain such ideas is it not a serious contradiction that they expect Turkish authorities to comply with these requests? Or do they think Turkey, a NATO member aspiring to join the EU, amounts to little more than a tribal nation?