As the outlawed PKK terrorist organization continues its deadly attacks in southern Turkey, the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party's (HDP) Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş made a statement to media members on Saturday in the southeastern city of Van and said the party may stay under the electoral threshold in the case of a possible snap election. Underlining that 80 percent of Turkey wants peace, Demirtaş also said if the HDP's real aim was to downgrade the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) then his party would have "only sat in their seats." "We can even take the risk of being under the electoral threshold. The most important thing to us is ending the bloodshed," the HDP leader said.
Interim Prime Minister and AK Party Chairman Ahmet Davutoğlu welcomed Demirtaş's statements, adding, "It is late but the right call." Urging Demirtaş for a genuine effort, Davutoğlu said: "We have never supported conflict or violence, but if they think we will keep silent when they lay traps and kill our police and soldiers [let it be known that] I'm declaring that whoever targets the public order will eventually be punished." On Sunday, following Saturday's visit to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS)-hit border post, Davutoğlu shared notes over his visit on his Twitter account. Sharing photos taken during the visit, he called on all political leaders to adopt a common position over the issues of public order, democracy and laying down the arms.
Demirtaş, who had previously said that it is impossible for the PKK to lay down its arms, is now shifting his statements due to concern over losing support toward the party. In this case, the recent public surveys by the ORC and SONAR research institutes have also indicated a significant drop in support towards the HDP amid tensions following the end of the cease-fire – signed back in 2013 - by the terrorist organization.
Following the increased terror activities by the PKK, which have resulted in the deaths of 26 security officers and six civilians and wounding more than 80 civilians in the last 20 days, the HDP and its co-chair, Demirtaş have been eliciting serious reactions from politicians and the public. Demirtaş's remarks are expected to hurt the party in the case of early elections. With serious concern over losing support toward the HDP, Demirtaş in his statements on Saturday said "Today we call to both sides: the PKK must immediately remove its finger from the trigger and declare it will observe the cease-fire."
The recent statement by Demirtaş came shortly after his immediate visit to Brussels on Thursday to meet EU officials and senior PKK leaders. Though there has not been an official statement about the details of Demirtaş's visit from the HDP, political sources close to the HDP have indicated that Demirtaş met with PKK-affiliated Kongra-Gel (KGK) Co-Chair Remzi Kartal and other executives from the terrorist organization yesterday in Brussels.
