Investigation launched into HDP deputy’s controversial ‘martyr’ remarks

Şanlıurfa's public prosecutor has launched an investigation into the remarks made by the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Ziya Çalışkan when he praised a PKK terrorist and referred to him as a "martyr."

Çalışkan 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, despite the HDP's claims that they do not support the terrorist organization.

"Each martyr 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 has been criticized for refraining to condemn the terrorist attacks carried out by the PKK, which is recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S., the EU and Turkey.

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.

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.