AK Party, HDP exchange blame after Suruc attack

AK Party Deputy Chairman Suleyman Soylu has criticized pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) leader Selahattin Demirtas over his "provocative" remarks after a number of deadly attacks hit Turkey this week.

"Demirtas is a destroyer of peace, who tries to divide our society and the brotherhood between Kurds and Turks," Soylu told Anadolu Agency in northern Trabzon province on Thursday.

The deputy prime minister's accusations come after Demirtas accused the government of turning a blind eye to Daesh terrorist group and not doing enough to fight it.

On Monday, at least 32 people were killed and more than 100 others wounded in Suruc district in of Sanliurfa province in a suspected Daesh suicide bomb attack at a gathering of activists who were planning to help rebuild the nearby Syrian town of Kobani.

Two days later, two police officers were found shot dead in their shared home in Ceylanpinar district in the same province on Wednesday. The attack was claimed by the PKK in apparent retaliation for the Suruc bombing.

Soylu accused Demirtas of doing his best to harm the solution process, which he said Turkey had sustained for a long time.

The solution process refers to a government initiative that began two years ago, aimed at resolving conflict with the PKK terrorist group and advancing the Kurdish population, while at the same time seeking to enhance rights and freedoms in Turkey.

Soylu added that Turkish political history had never seen such a "manipulator", in reference to the pro-Kurdish party leader.

Following the Suruc blast, Demirtas said the government was responsible for the security of the gathering and called on his party’s affiliates to take their own security measures against potential threats.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu responded by calling on the HDP leadership to “be prudent with their remarks”.

HDP offices and rallies have been targeted by attacks by suspects with alleged Daesh links in the buildup to the June 7 parliamentary election.

Last October, some 40 people were killed in street clashes in protest against what Kurds thought was the Turkish government’s failure to act in response to a Daesh attack on the Kurdish town of Kobani in Syria. The clashes appeared at the time to be touched off by a public call by HDP leader Demirtas on party supporters to pour on the streets to protest.