Citizens in southeastern Turkey react against PKK terrorism

Representatives of NGOs and inhabitants of the southeastern region of Turkey raised their voices against the latest attacks by Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants.

The PKK Wednesday staged an attack in which a bomb-laden vehicle destroyed a state hospital, a governorship office, police headquarters, dozens of houses, ten workplaces and several cars in the southeastern Turkish province of Hakkari. Despite the severe damage, there were no casualties.

"Regardless of the identity of the terrorist group who conducted the attack, we curse all violations that target our citizens' basic living space," said Nurhak Ensarioğlu, chair of the Diyabakır branch of the Health and Social Services Employee's Union (Sağlık-Sen).

"The recent terror attacks reached such a high level in the country that they even target hospitals, the safest places in the world, he said of Wednesday's attack.

Ömer Evsen, chair of the Religious Officials' Union (Diyanet-Sen) Diyarbakır branch, said that attacks on public places were contradictory to Islam as well as humanity and law.

Evsen said, attacks by terror groups wrought havoc on schools and religious places and now they attack hospitals. “These will not be beneficial to anyone," he said, adding that these type of places should not be attacked even during wartime.

Another NGO official from Mardin province also voiced against targeting hospitals. “Hospitals represent the common values of human beings. Bombing these values cannot be accepted."

İbrahim Homan, one of the local inhabitants, said he demanded peace and brotherhood, but “bombs continue to explode."

“They [PKK] continue their acts of violence despite declaring a truce earlier this month. The PKK's declarations of ceasefire don't have any formal value. They announce the single-part truce one day and stage a terror attack whenever they want," said Nurettin Tatar, head of the Nuh Eğitim-Der, a Şırnak-based association for Education Workers.

Citizens from Bingöl and Siirt also reacted to PKK violence. “They don't care about hospitals, schools, mosques, elders or kids. Even the truce is not important for them. They continue their presence by spreading violence among people in the region," said Abdulsamet Bayram, a citizen from Bingöl.

Wednesday's attack was not the first time the PKK has targeted government buildings and disrupted public services with terror attacks, especially in southeastern Turkey. They have bombed bridges, burned machines used for dam construction, attacked industrial areas, and destroyed many vehicles and trucks. PKK attacks have been blamed for the cancellation of multimillion-dollar projects in the underdeveloped southeastern region.

The PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization in Turkey, the EU and the US, intensified its armed violence this summer in a rash of attacks which killed over a hundred people, including civilians and security officials.