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Nationalist opposition leader says Erdoğan’s far-right allies threatening him over Öcalan stance

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Turkey’s nationalist opposition İYİ (Good) Party leader Müsavat Dervişoğlu said Thursday that he has been receiving death threats from members of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party, a key ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, after opposing calls for imprisoned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan to address a pro-Kurdish party’s parliamentary group.

Speaking on Sözcü TV, Dervişoğlu claimed the threats against him intensified after he rejected discussions of Öcalan’s involvement in potential new peace talks. He specifically pointed to threats from members of the Grey Wolves, the ultranationalist youth wing of the MHP.

“The people who invited Öcalan to parliament are now threatening me because I opposed it,” Dervişoğlu said. “I have been receiving threats ever since I took a stand against this process. What saddens me is not the threats themselves but the fact that they come from people who claim to be nationalists.”

The feud between Dervişoğlu and the MHP erupted after MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli unexpectedly suggested last year that Öcalan be allowed to address the parliamentary group of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democracy and Equality Party (DEM Party) and call for the PKK’s disbandment. The proposal was seen as a dramatic shift from Bahçeli’s previous hardline stance against Kurdish political representation.

Dervişoğlu, whose İYİ Party was founded by nationalists who split from the MHP, strongly opposed the idea, arguing that Öcalan, who has been imprisoned since 1999, should not be given any political platform. Following his criticism, Dervişoğlu said he became the target of a series of threats, particularly from MHP-linked figures.

“I don’t care about the threats,” he said. “What truly pains me is that people who claim to be nationalists are threatening me for standing against Öcalan. I refuse to be intimidated.”

The situation intensified earlier this month when Bahçeli launched a veiled attack on Dervişoğlu during an MHP parliamentary group meeting, accusing unnamed political figures of “political opportunism” and calling them “unprincipled” and “dishonorable.” Dervişoğlu fired back, saying his loyalty was to Turkey, not to Bahçeli.

“I respect the seat you hold, not you personally,” Dervişoğlu said in a speech directed at Bahçeli. “We all know who is pulling the strings behind the scenes.”

Following the exchange, Grey Wolves leader Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım, who has been linked to past political violence, escalated tensions by directly threatening Dervişoğlu in a social media post.

“Müsavat, you are barking like a rabid dog,” Yıldırım said in a video statement. “Go and dance for your masters, but do not get into trouble with us. If you cross the line, we will teach you a lesson.”

Yıldırım’s statement sparked outrage since it was seen as an explicit threat of violence. His name has also surfaced in connection with the 2022 assassination of former Grey Wolves leader Sinan Ateş, a murder widely believed to have been politically motivated.

Yıldırım’s name has repeatedly been mentioned in connection with the killing of Ateş, who was shot dead in broad daylight in Ankara in December 2022. Ateş, once a rising figure in the MHP, had fallen out with the party’s leadership before his murder. His widow, Ayşe Ateş, has publicly accused MHP officials, including Yıldırım, of orchestrating the killing.

Earlier this week Turkish prosecutors controversially dropped charges against 22 suspects linked to the assassination, including Yıldırım and former MHP lawmaker Olcay Kılavuz, citing a lack of evidence. The ruling sparked allegations of a political cover-up.

Following Yıldırım’s threats against Dervişoğlu, Ayşe Ateş responded on social media, directly challenging the Grey Wolves leader.

“What will you do, Ahmet? Will you kill him like you did Sinan?” she wrote, implying that Yıldırım was involved in her husband’s assassination.

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