Gunmen attack Turkey’s Kurdish party headquarters

Unknown attackers have opened fire on the headquarters of Turkey’s main Kurdish party in the capital Ankara ahead of the country’s general elections.

“The attackers fired with pump rifles at the party headquarters at 4:05 am from a passing car,” said an unnamed official from the Kurdish-dominated People's Democratic Party (HDP) on Saturday, adding however, that the assault had no casualties.

The attack prompted some fire from the security guards protecting the building, but the assailants swiftly escaped the scene.

Kurdish politicians have condemned the attack as a move to provoke a response by the party and Turkey’s Kurdish population ahead of Turkey’s legislative elections which is slated for June 7.

“Provocation is continuing. We will not yield,” said Sirri Sureyya Onder, a member of the Turkish parliament from the HDP, in a post on his Twitter page.  

The lawmaker, who later visited the scene of the attack, said the assault was meant to hamper HDP’s successful campaign for acquiring more seats in the parliament, adding, “We are determined to insistently advocate peace and democratic policies.”

Government officials also condemned the assault, with Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan blaming some “dirty hands” for inciting such provocations close to the elections.

"No matter where it comes... we always condemn terror regardless of its target or origin,” Akdogan said, according to the state-run Anatolia news agency.

Tensions have been high ahead of the June elections as the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is trying to bring more lawmakers into Turkey’s legislative chamber to succeed in making its long-promised changes in the country's constitution. That would mean an upper hand in almost all administrative and security issues for the incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in his desired system of governance.

Opposition parties have repeatedly warned that the new measure would push Turkey into a new dictatorship.

Erdoğan’s aspirations could be seriously hampered, however, as HDP has vowed to block the move if it wins more than 10 percent of the votes and gains a direct representation in the parliament. AKP has currently 312 seats in the body, 54 seats shy of the two-third threshold needed for changing the constitution.

Selahattin Demirtas, a co-chair of the People's Democratic Party (HDP), said Monday that his party is totally opposed to changes in Turkey’s constitution which would allow Erdogan to boost his power as president.

“Mr. President is trying to create a constitutional dictatorship by collecting all the power for himself,” said Demirtas, vowing that HDP will block Erdogan’s plans for pushing through with the changes.

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