HDP Deputy attends funeral ceremony of PKK terrorist, says they will stand up for the 'martyrs'

A deputy from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) drew ire by not only attending the funeral ceremony of a PKK terrorist who killed two police officers in southern Adana province on July 31, but he also referred to the PKK terrorist as a "martyr" and said that they will stand up for them.

Ziya Çalışkan, who is a deputy from southeastern Şanlıurfa province, attended the funeral ceremony of one of the two PKK terrorists, Ali Baybariz, who attacked the police station in Adana, despite the HDP's claims that they do not support the terrorist organization.

"Each martyr that we bury is an oath and vow for us," Çalışkan said while trying to console the terrorist's weeping mother.

He pledged that they will "live for the honor" of the so-called martyrs, who carry out terrorist attacks throughout the country and have put an end to the country's reconciliation process.

The HDP deputy also panned the Turkish state and claimed administrators have never changed.

"Be it Kenan Evren, Tansu Çiller or Atatürk, they do not get the point," Çalışkan said, blaming the current wave of terror attacks on the state.

The party has been criticized for refraining to condemn the terrorist attacks. For instance, HDP's co-spokesman and İzmir Deputy Ertuğrul Kürkçü said that PKK terror attacks on Turkish security forces are not "a matter of condemnation" in a live broadcast on BBC on August 6.

HDP's co-Chair Figen Yüksekdağ praised the PKK terrorist organization, and referred to it as "a national liberation movement and also an organization that stands for democracy and equality."

Her remarks came after the PKK commenced suicide bomb attacks and other terrorist activities across the country.

Another HDP deputy, Abdullah Zeydan made provocative statements and threatened Turkey by saying that the terrorist organization PKK has the power to "suffocate Turkey with its spit."

On August 8, the leader of Turkey's pro-Kurdish party called on Saturday for the terrorist PKK group to "remove its finger from the trigger" and for the government to launch talks.

Turkey has been hit by violence since a suicide bomb attack by a suspected ISIS supporter killed 32 activists in Suruç on July 20.

The Turkish government has intensified its counterterror operations following the recent attacks carried out by the PKK, which is recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S., the EU and Turkey.

Formed in 1978, the terrorist group has been fighting the Turkish government for an independent state until the early 2000's. The group then shifted its goal to autonomy in predominately Kurdish inhabited regions of Turkey.

The PKK announced on July 11 that the cease-fire which was declared via a message from the PKK's imprisoned leader Abdullah Öcalan in 2013 has ended.

Turkish security forces have arrested hundreds of people with suspected links to ISIS, the PKK, and leftist groups, detaining over 1,300 people across the country, according to a recent statement released by the Prime Minister's Office.

The Turkish Air Force has been carrying airstrikes against the PKK in northern Iraq and the ISIS militants in northern Syria.