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Turkish police chief says don’t hesitate to shoot Kurdish protesters

TM

Turkish riot police officers use tear gas and arrest demonstrators during a protest against the arrest of pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) lawmakers, in Ankara, on November 4, 2016. The detention of a dozen MPs from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) including its co-leaders marks the "end of democracy" in Turkey, the party said in a statement on November 4, 2016. "The goal of these measures is to shut down the third largest party in parliament. This is a dark day not only for our party but for all of Turkey and the region as it means the end of democracy in Turkey," it said, vowing not to surrender to these "dictatorial policies".

Newly emerged video footage shows the moment a Turkish police chief orders his subordinates to use guns against Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) members who have taken to the streets in İstanbul to protest the arrest of Kurdish politicians.

The 11-second video, viewed hundreds of times on YouTube and Twitter, shows a police chief ordering other officers to show protestors no mercy, saying; “Don’t hesitate to use guns, if necessary, shoot.”

After several HDP deputies were rounded up in the early hours of Friday, nine Kurdish lawmakers including the two co-chairs of the party were arrested on Friday afternoon.

The Doğan news agency has reported that HDP Co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ have been taken to Kandıra Prison in Kocaeli, where the previously arrested co-mayors of Diyarbakir Gültan Kışanak and Fırat Anlı are currently being held.

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