JINHA

NEWS CENTER – Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) politicians are decrying the spate of racist attacks against HDP election offices that have coincided with the rising polling numbers of the party.

Saturday night, armed attackers assaulted two election bureaus of the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) in different cities. In Yalova, armed attackers opened fire on Saturday night on the HDP's election office in the Altınova district, which HDP volunteers were preparing to open. Four bullets struck the window glass of the office. In Istanbul’s Pendik district, unidentified assailants broke the window glass at the HDP election office in the Esenyali neighborhood on Saturday night.

These have not been the first armed attacks on HDP offices. This election season has seen repeated attacks. One of those took place in the town of Milas, near Muğla in the Aegean region. Last Monday, attackers threw rocks at the local HDP election bureau, breaking the glass. HDP politicians are angry that police have taken no action against the attacks, accusing authorities of collaborating to stop the party’s recent rise.

“Isn’t it strange that those who harass and follow us every day ignored the stone-throwing at our office?” asked HDP Milas Co-Chair Derya Koç, speaking in front of the Milas HDP building yesterday to a local crowd. “This racist attack was not an individual action. It was a planned, programmed, designed attack.

“The more they throw stones, the stronger we’ll grow. The more they fire bullets, the more we’ll respond in kind with flowers, and make them ashamed,” said Derya.

The crowd responded with chants of “long live the fraternity of peoples” and “long live the HDP.”

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