Racist mobs, under the protection of Turkish police, have escalated their attacks on Kurds after the ruling Justice and Development Party (JDP – AKP) came short of forming the government in the last June 7 elections. Government led or protected mobs of racists and nationalists attacked more than 128 offices of the pro-Kurdish, progressive Peoples’ Democratic Party, the HDP in one day alone. The attacks against the Kurdish minority of Turkey also escalated as religious, racist and nationalist mobs attacked, lynched and murdered people they thought were Kurds based on their color, language or simply their complexions.

The JDP, blamed its loss of the government on the pro-Kurdish HDP. HDP, against all expectations, had secured the 13% of the votes and surpassed the threshold of 10% to be represented in the National Assembly. Winning 80 representatives with mostly the Kurdish and progressive votes, HDP became a key party for forming a new government either with the JDP or other opposition parties.

The ruling JDP decided to make the Kurds pay for the support Kurdish and progressive people gave to the HDP.

While the military and the police attacked certain Eastern Kurdish towns under 7 straight days of 24 hour curfew, the media started a frenzy of racist lies to whip up the Turkish assaults against Kurdish citizens.

Solidarity groups started to form in all parts of the country by progressives to support the Kurds, their organizations and the HDP. In some cities solidarity organizations such as “Peace Blocks” joined hands in front of the burned offices of the HDP to protect them from further racist mob attacks.

Women’s delegations, peace groups, anti-war activists and progressive organizations such as Peoples’ Houses collected the much needed supplies and went to Cizre, the Kurdish town under the Turkish military siege, to deliver to the people of Cizre. During the siege 23 civilians were murdered by the Turkish forces.

To follow up and report on the religious and racist attacks against the HDP party’s offices, Sendika.org’s correspondent Bora Balci went to the scene to investigate. On his way back, a cross over van stopped by his side and the driver asked a question. As Bora stepped closer to answer, the side door opened and someone pushed him inside. The vehicle immediately took off.

The plainclothes man on his right pulled a gun and pushed the barrel to Mr. Balci’s stomach while hurling insults during the long ride.

Balci said, “They wanted me to know that they had been following me very closely. They told me who I talked to, who I’d seen, where I had gone. They pointed to my briefcase and told me the contents in each of its pockets. They drove me to an empty lot and told me they would make that place my resting ground. Then they drove me to my home, my work and to my daughter’s school. Then they dropped me off at where they picked me up. I could not see the license plate from the back when they drove off. The vehicle had Turkish flags in the front and the back.”

Balci’s attorneys will be filing charges with the state prosecutor office to start an investigation on the kidnapping.

Assaults and kidnapping of journalists is not new in Turkey.

In the 1990’s many Kurdish journalists were kidnapped and murdered by the government officials.

Recently, journalist Gozde Cagri from Seyri Sokak was kidnapped by some plainclothes police on September 6th. She too was forced into a van and threatened, “We see you around a lot. Be careful who you are associating with.”

In July of this year, another progressive journalist, Kadir Ornek, from the progressive daily Evrensel was also kidnapped, this time by having a sack pulled over his head.

Kidnapping and assault of opposition journalists have become a routine event in Ankara, especially after the JDP lost the elections and is creating an environment of chaos and civil war. JDP is hoping in the dust that the civil war will create, and organizing the religious, racist and nationalist mob behind it, it has a chance to win back the government in the early October 1st early elections.

Sendika.Org News (Mehmet Bayram)