Demirtas visits Kobanê and calls on Turkey to act against ISIS

KT News:

Selahattin Demirtaş

Selahattin Demirtaş

Selahattin Demirtas, co-chair of the pro-Kurd HDP and candidate in last month’s presidential election in Turkey, today crossed the border to visit the besieged town of Kobanê, where Syrian Kurds have been resisting an ISIS (IS) onslaught for the past 15 days. Demirtas later appeared on Turkish national television and called for Turkey to act against the jihadists.

“We crossed into Kobani and held a meeting with the Democratic Union Party (PYD) co-chair”, Demirtas said. “There were IS terrorists just two kilometres away. Kobani has been besieged by IS militants from all sides”.

Demirtas is due to hold talks with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutolgu tomorrow. “Turkey can minimise the disappointment among its citizens only if it takes action”, he said.

Kurds have been angered by evidence that the Turkish state has provided support and a blind eye to ISIS while it harasses Kurds trying to cross the border to join the Kobanê resistance. There are also concerns that the buffer zone proposed by Turkish president Erdogan would be designed to smother the fledgling, de-facto Kurdish autonomy in Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan).

“If everyone joins forces, no one can defeat a people who are championing a legitimate cause”, said Demirtas. “Everyone should know that if IS enters Kobanê, we will never accept their victory”.

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