Pro-Kurdish party accuses Turkish minister of distorting facts

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Green Left Party on Saturday responded to Turkish interior minister's announcement of the detention of two party members on the grounds of their alleged affiliation with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), accusing the minister of “conducting a perception management operation by distorting the facts”.

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya on Saturday announced on X, formerly Twitter, the detention of two individuals in the eastern province of Agri, one for allegedly being a member of the PKK, and the other for “being assessed” to join the group’s ranks. Yerlikaya said the two tried to cross the Turkey-Iran border aboard a vehicle belonging to a Green Left MP, whom he only referred to by his initials.

Yerlikaya said that they have submitted a request for an investigation into the facts to Ankara’s chief prosecutor’s office regarding the MP in question. 

The Green Left Party responded accusing Yerlikaya of "distorting the facts."

“The interior minister is carrying out a perception management operation by distorting the facts. Those detained are members of our Youth Assembly Ronahi Tunc, and Party Assembly Member Hazal Karabey,” read the statement published by the Green Left party on X.

Both Tunc and Karabey were accompanying MP Heval Bozdag and were traveling from Ankara to Agri to contribute to the preparations for the party’s congress, according to the statement.

The Green Left party labeled the interior minister’s statement as an “interference in the judiciary process” condemning the “unlawfulness,” of the move. 

Bozdag, whose car was used by the two detainees, did not directly respond to Yerlikaya’s claim, however, he reposted the Green Left Party’s statement on X.

Following a PKK attack in front of the Turkish interior ministry in Ankara earlier this month, Turkey launched a crackdown on alleged PKK members. Turkey considers the Green Left Party’s sister party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) as the political wing of the armed group inside Turkey.

Last week, Yerlikaya announced the arrest of over 2,500 alleged PKK members throughout Turkey in response to the Ankara attack.

The Green Left Party was used as an umbrella party for HDP members to participate in Turkey’s parliamentary elections in May, given that the pro-Kurdish party was facing a party shut-down case at the time.

The Green Left Party is set to hold its fourth ordinary congress on Sunday. Congress members are expected to amend seven articles of the party’s bylaws, among which those relating to electing new co-chairs and changing the party name.