ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A member of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been arrested in connection with an attack on the head of the country’s main opposition party. AKP will consider dismissing the member who is currently in custody, according to the party’s spokesperson.
Osman Sarigun was one of six people arrested on Monday in connection with the Sunday mobbing of Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Sarigun’s role within AKP is not immediately clear.
"AKP is against any form of violence. Our principles certainly reject violence. There is no room for violence in democratic politics," AKP spokesperson Omer Celik said on Twitter, confirming Sarigun’s membership in the party and that he will face a disciplinary hearing.
Kilicdaroglu, 70, was attacked by a crowd when he attended the funeral in Ankara for a Turkish soldier killed in clashes with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). He was hurried to a safe house by security forces and, unhurt, later gave a speech to supporters.
“The assailants have no respect for the martyr,” he said, AFP reported. “They are not genuine Muslims.”
AKP and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) quickly condemned the attack on the CHP leader. Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin also tweeted his condemnation. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has not personally commented on the incident as of yet.
Political tensions are high in the country after AKP lost key cities in the March 31 mayoral election. CHP’s candidate in Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, won the mayorship of Istanbul with a slim majority over his AKP rival. AKP requested several recounts and a demand for a full rerun of the election in the metropolis is still before the electoral authorities.
In the election campaign, Erdogan frequently accused CHP of backing the PKK. The crowd at the funeral picked up on the theme, chanting “Kick out PKK parties!”
Erdogan’s rhetoric probably played a role in the attack, said Kati Piri, the European parliament’s rapporteur for Turkey. The incident was “likely inspired by hate speeches of ruling politicians,” she tweeted on Sunday. “This radical polarization must end.”