Attack on HDP headquarters
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Three people attacked the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) headquarters in the capital city of Ankara last night (May 13).
Security camera footage released by the party shows three people throwing rocks at the building. Police officers guarding the building come after a while and try to prevent the attackers, who then run away.
Releasing a statement about the incident today, the HDP said, "As understood from the camera recordings, the police officers assigned to protect our building at two separate places did not prevent the attack but kind of helped it."
Partimize yapılan saldırının azmettiricilerini tanıyoruz!
— HDP (@HDPgenelmerkezi) May 14, 2021
Merkez Yürütme Kurulumuzun açıklaması:https://t.co/L85NZ4uHy3 pic.twitter.com/d2tSyDXAKH
The fact that the attackers freely attacked our party under the watch of the police and that they are not still detained is a clear indication of the purpose of the attack and by what forces it was directed," said the party.
"The perpetrator of this attack, which targeted the third largest party of Turkey on the first day of the Ramadan Feast despite the curfew, are political centers that feed on chaos and turmoil, the government, which targets our party at every opportunity," said the HDP.
Sedat Peker videos
It also blamed Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu, who targeted the party yesterday over videos released on YouTube by Sedat Peker, a formerly pro-government figure who is now accused by the government of leading a criminal organization.
"This cowardly attack with the gangster, mafia methods against our party in a period when the politics-mafia relations are revealed is not a coincidence," said the HDP.
Peker turned against the government after having to flee the country and released four videos, in which he makes accusations against government officials, including covering up murders and plotting against businesspersons to confiscate their property.
In his latest video yesterday, Peker claimed that Soylu had notified him about an investigation against him, thanks to which he had been able to leave the country before being arrested, and had promised him that he would return to the country.
CLICK - Sedat Peker's new video targets Interior Minister Soylu
However, according to Peker, Soylu broke his word. In response, the minister accused the opposition parties of supporting Peker and said he had "full support of the HDPKK," compounding the abbreviation of the HDP and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Saying that Soylu was trying to deflect the blame after his "dirty relations" were revealed, the HDP noted, "No power can hide the corruption that emerged in the triangle of mafia-politics-bureaucracy by attacking our party."
"We won't leave this country to the mercy of this dark, aggressive mentality. We will foil the calculations of those who feed on chaos and turmoil, grow the joint struggle with our persistence in our democratic path of politics and bring Turkey out of this darkness," it said. (TP/VK)