 Party, for alleged ties to terrorism, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported.){kind=link}
Turkish police on Tuesday conducted raids across 28 provinces and detained a total of 165 people, including peace activists and members of the Peoples’ Democracy and Equality (DEM) Party, for alleged ties to terrorism, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported.
The detentions were announced by Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya on social media under the title “Operation Heroes-43,” in apparent reference to Turkey’s recent casualties in its fight against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq.
2️⃣8️⃣ İlde Bölücü Terör Örgütüne (BTÖ) yönelik eş zamanlı olarak düzenlenen “KAHRAMANLAR-43” Operasyonlarında 1️⃣6️⃣5️⃣ şüpheli yakalandı❗
Aziz Milletimizin huzuru, birlik ve beraberliği için teröristlerin hiçbirine göz açtırmayacağız. Güvenlik güçlerimizin üstün gayretleriyle… pic.twitter.com/pJkwAU3PYC
— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) January 16, 2024
Yerlikaya said the detainees were targeted over their alleged involvement in or their social media propaganda on behalf of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an armed separatist group designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and much of the international community.
Among those detained were several members of the Peace Mothers, an activist group advocating a peaceful resolution of the conflict between the state and the PKK, as well as members of DEM’s youth and women’s networks.
Since the 1980s the PKK has been waging a war against the Turkish state in the country’s predominantly Kurdish southeast.
Although the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) embarked on a negotiated ceasefire with the militant group in the early 2010s, the peace talks broke down in mid-2015, leading to a resumption of hostilities as well as increased government pressure on the Kurdish political movement.
The crackdown intensified following a failed military coup in July 2016, after which the AKP formed a governing alliance with the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), adopting an increasingly hostile stance against the Kurdish opposition, equating it with the PKK.
In recent weeks, the Turkish armed forces came under PKK attack in northern Iraq, suffering many casualties. It is common for Turkey’s authorities to announce widespread detentions against Kurdish politics in the wake of such serious incidents.