Kurdish intellectuals react to football pitch attack

“It is obvious that what is being done no longer bears any connection to the Kurdish people's demands for freedom. They are attacking anywhere they want. It could be the middle of Taksim Square, it could be a beach in Antalya or a football pitch in Tunceli,” Kurdish writer Ümit Fırat said.

Fırat said the PKK was acting as if it were in a war game, adding: “Fifteen to 20 years ago we used to say that the state was guilty of abominable acts, such as driving people out of their homes and villages, and killing innocent people in extrajudicial murders. Now the state is making efforts to change how it was in the past, but now you have the sons of those who were targeted by illegitimate attacks doing the same thing.”

Republican People's Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman Sezgin Tanrıkulu, a former president of the Diyarbakır Bar Association, said there was not a single political, ideological or other reason to justify the Tunceli attack.

“Everyone should understand by now that no results can be obtained through arms and violence. Nothing is more precious than the life of a human. Our country needs peace, respect for human life and steps that will enhance the culture of living together more than anything else,” he said.

Kurtuluş Tayiz, a columnist for the Taraf daily, wrote in a recent column that Kurdish politics has completely surrendered to violence. He accused the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), the only pro-Kurdish party in Turkey's Parliament, of not taking a clear stance against PKK violence.

He said the PKK is using violence without commitment to any ethical or moral standards, adding, “Obviously any political victory gained by massacring civilians and any organization that is to be formed at the end of violence will have no value at all.”

Cafer Solgun, a researcher and writer from Tunceli, said the Tunceli attack once again overshadowed any hopes for peace with blood. “Those who have placed their hopes in violence should understand that this is no way to do it, and look for a solution on legitimate grounds.”