ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The co-chief of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) in Turkey, fresh off a general election victory that will allow the party to seat candidates in the Turkish parliament for the first time, has implied he will seek to prosecute Turkish officials responsible for a 2011 massacre of Kurdish civilians.
“The time for threats is over, and those who had a hand in the Roboski massacre must be brought to the court," said HDP co-chief Selahattin Demirtas at his party’s victory celebration in Istanbul.
The Roboski massacre occurred on December 28, 2011 when Turkish fighter jets bombed 40 Kurds—mostly Turkish nationals—near Iraq’s border with Şırnak province in Turkey. Turkey cleared the strike claiming the mule convoy was affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) and smuggling arms for the group.
In the aftermath of the bombing, it was revealed the group was mostly just smuggling oil, drugs and cigarettes. American drones were initially responsible for spotting the group, and US officials notified Turkey. Thirty-eight of the group were killed in the airstrike.
Demirtas’ revisit of the massacre follows the HDP winning 13.1 percent of the popular parliament vote in Sunday’s election. Turkish law requires a party achieve at least 10 percent of the popular vote to seat candidates in the 550-member parliament, so this will be the first time a Kurdish party will be allowed to seat candidates in Turkey’s modern history.
