Storekeeper opens fire on Muş demonstrators: two shot dead

The Bulanık district turned into a war zone yesterday when demonstrators marching down 700. Yıl Street started stoning businesses and banks. Meanwhile, Turan Bilen, the owner of a haberdashery, whose store was also attacked and his car set on fire, opened fire on the crowd. Two of the demonstrators were hit and killed by bullets from Bilen's automatic rifle, while seven others were wounded. Those injured were hospitalized immediately. Bilen was detained after the incident. Muş Deputy Governor Ali Edip Budan said a group was demonstrating using the closure of the DTP as an excuse. He said a store owner who refused to shut his shop during the demonstration got into an argument with the demonstrators.

“The incident happened between a store owner who would not close his shop and the demonstrators. Two citizens have died in the incident,” he said. Budan also stated that more police officers from Bitlis were coming to the city as reinforcements. The names of those killed were announced as Nejmi Oral and Kemal Aycan.

Illegal demonstrations continued in Bulanık throughout the day, with protestors setting vehicles parked on the city’s streets on fire and throwing Molotov cocktails.

Two people died in Bulanık, Muş province, yesterday after a clash between craftsmen and protestors. Two people died in Bulanık, Muş province, yesterday after a clash between craftsmen and protestors.

Also yesterday, a terrorist planning an attack in an urban neighborhood in the southeastern province of Mardin was captured. The police seized C4 explosives and three hand grenades.

The incidents in Muş yesterday were a continuation of reactions to the Constitutional Court’s Friday ruling to shut down the DTP over links with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

As violence escalates on the streets, intellectuals and politicians including members of the now-defunct DTP have been calling for calm. The former deputy chairman of the now-defunct DTP’s parliamentary group, Selahattin Demirtaş, a Diyarbakır deputy, accused the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) of provoking Turkish nationalists. He said they weren’t against people expressing their reactions democratically but that they were against every reaction that went beyond this. “Calls from us to prevent incidents from turning into violence are not enough. The CHP and the MHP are provoking people instead of calling for calm. They need to call for calm in a serious and consistent manner.” Demirtaş said the use of weapons on the street might result in serious consequences.

Ayla Akat and Pervin Buldan, two other DTP deputies, also called for calm. Both deputies warned against the use of violence in demonstrations.

Numan Kurtulmuş, the head of the Felicity Party (SP), has underlined that precautions must be taken to establish a peaceful atmosphere in the country, saying: “Everybody must act with common sense. Both Turks and Kurds should avoid violent acts.” He also stated that Turkey, with its great potential to grow, is wasting its resources on fighting terrorism.

The deputy chairman of the Grand Unity Party (BBP), Mustafa Destici, also made a statement calling for calm. “People should call security forces when aggressive demonstrations are taking place instead of intervening themselves,” he said. He also warned against automatically declaring every Kurdish person a member of the terrorist PKK. “Everyone should make an effort to understand the other side. The only way to rein in these incidents is for politicians to repeatedly call on people to remain calm,” said Diyarbakır Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Galip Ensarioğlu. He also called attention to the role of NGOs, which he thinks should guide people in this process.

Yasin Aktay, an instructor from Konya University, pointed out that in a chaotic atmosphere that is being fomented by deliberate efforts and provocations, terrorists have the opportunity to make their voices heard.

The incidents in Muş follow clashes in İstanbul’s busy Beyoğlu district on Sunday between about 200 Kurds and Turkish nationalists as well as the police. Protesters hurled stones and explosive devices at shops, cars and businesses in Beyoğlu, the heart of the shopping and entertainment district of Turkey’s biggest city, before a group of knife-wielding Turkish nationalists gathered and tried to attack them.

There has been tension between Turkish and Kurdish groups in other cities as well, leading commentators to compare the images and express concern and fear about further violence.