At a conference over the weekend Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş slammed Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu following his criticism of the HDP and pointed to Kılıçdaroğlu's previous remarks on the People's Protection Units (YPG) not being a terrorist organization.

"Kılıçdaroğlu, last year didn't you say yourself that the YPG is an organization that protects its own lands and people against external attacks?" Demirtaş questioned. He also called on Kılıçdaroğlu to visit southeastern districts where security forces have been carrying out counterterror operations since mid-December of last year.

Kılıçdaroğlu last week rebuked the HDP for failing to distance itself from the PKK terrorist organization. "We would like the HDP to transform into a party of the whole of Turkey. We would like the HDP to take a clear stance against the PKK," Kılıçdaroğlu said, adding that the party should call the PKK a terrorist organization and condemn it.

The CHP has been criticized of failing to take a clear stance against PKK terror as well. The party pointed fingers at the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan following terrorist attacks, rather than condemning terrorists and their organizations.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu last week criticized Kılıçdaroğlu's remarks that targeted the government and his party, saying that "Kılıçdaroğlu has a very typical and predictable attitude toward terror attacks. We have yet to get a clear picture from him regarding his attitude toward the terror issue. What we hear in the wake of terror attacks is just baseless, AK Party criticism."

The CHP chairman and some academics had previously blamed the AK Party government and security forces for civilian deaths in the southeast.

Attendees at the conference observed a minute of silence for PKK terrorist casualties as well.