Unrest against Kurdish Population in Hatay

Four police officers were killed in an attack on a police car in the south-eastern city of Dörtyolu; the party building of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party was burned; shops owned by Kurds were demolished. Tension is still rising high in the region.

According to Mehmet İnsan, Provincial Co-Chair of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) in Hatay, the pre-dominantly Kurdish population of the city of Dörtyol closed four districts by setting up barricades. By doing so, the residents reacted to the latest clashes in the province of Hatay on the eastern tip of the Mediterranean coast.

BDP Co-Chair İnsan said that in the scope of attacks carried out on Monday (26 July), the party’s district building was burned down and about 50 work places were demolished, most of them belonging to Kurdish owners. Apparently, İnsan was able to access the area on Tuesday morning (27 July). Moreover, he stated that the BDP delegation had been attacked by a group giving themselves away as so-called “Idealists” (Ülkücü), an ultra-nationalist and neo fascist youth organization of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

İnsan told bianet that weapons were used in the latest attack and that a young Kurd, the son of a BDP member, was injured. A person from Urfa was wounded in the clashes on Monday.

Riots in Dörtyolu

The incidents started after an attack on a police car on Monday (26 July). Four police officers were killed in the attack, namely Ali Hacit Arat, Hasan Aslan,  Emre Yalçın and Fatih Yıldız. Another armed attack was aimed at the Police Directorate. Three people were arrested after the attacks.

Around 500 people gathered in front of the Dörtyolu Police Station where the suspects were kept and called the authorities to “hand the suspects over to them”. They also Later on, the incident turned into a racist attack against Kurds when people started shouting slogans against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Eventually, a group of soldiers entered the scene and shot into the air to resolve the crowd.

BDP District Chairman Halil Baybaris talked to the Fırat News Agency after the raid on the party building. “They burned our party. Additionally, they burned down cafés run by Kurds in the city centre by throwing Molotov cocktails. We are worried right now. The police who are supposed to protect us do not answer our phone calls. No life of any Kurdish person here is safe. We are all worried”.

“I tried to warn the governor”

İnsan indicated that he called the Governor and the Provincial Police Directorate on the phone after the attack on the police car in order to ask for an enhancement of security. Both officials were attending a security meeting though so İnsan could not be put through.

“Security measures and the number of security personnel has to be increased in the district”, İnsan claimed, adding that there was not much point in attending a security meeting arranged by the Governorship only after the incidents happened.

The city of Dörtyol in the province of Hatay has a population of around 144,000 inhabitants; about 67,000 people live in the centre. İnsan pointed out that the number of organizations of the pro-Kurdish BDP increased in recent times. According to information conveyed by the BDP Co-Chair, about 15,000 Kurds are living in Dörtyol. Among them are displaced people as well as migrants who in general work in the field of agriculture and as construction workers. A few of them earn a living as shopkeepers. Fadıl Keskin from MHP is the mayor. The Municipal Council includes 16 members of the MHP and 9 members of the Justice and Development Party (AKP).  (TK/EÜ/VK)