ISTANBUL – Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) co-President Selahattin Demirtaş held a rally in the Karayazı district of the eastern province of Erzurum on Wednesday, where he spoke about the ongoing reconciliation process with the Kurds and stressed the importance of unification among different ethnic and sectarian groups. He said divisions in society since the Ottoman period have caused several problems and prevented economic development. He claimed that in the early period of the Turkish Republic, state policy toward the Kurdish community artificially divided society and said that BDP will work not only for Kurds but also for every ethnic and religious community living in Turkey.

He also touched on economic problems facing small-scale entrepreneurs and claimed that the government's interest policy has hurt them in particular. He added that they will help small-scale traders and entrepreneurs without offering details.