Two ministers from Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP) resigned from the interim government at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the private channel NTV said.
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Alluding to the government’s accusation that the HDP is a front for the PKK – allegations the party vehemently denies – he urged voters to vote AKP “so that peace returns to Turkey“.
The resignations come amid an upsurge of violence between security forces and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorist organization, and are likely to exacerbate political tensions ahead of the election.
The two were prohibited from entering Cizre, a southeastern town placed under curfew for eight days earlier this month, when a HDP delegation arrived to inspect conditions following reports of civilian deaths.
In a brief statement posted to the military’s website, it said the blasts occurred within a few hours of each other but gave few details.
Konca and Dogan, both known for their open criticism of the AKP, were the first pro-Kurdish politicians ever to take seats in the Turkish government after their party managed to win 13 percent of the votes in the parliamentary elections in June.
Davutoglu said Turkey was aware of intelligence agencies operating in northern Iraq and their aims.
Beril Dedeoglu, a female professor at Istanbul’s Galatasaray University, replaced Konca while Cuneyd Duzyol, the undersecretary of the Development Ministry, was appointed as development minister.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan late Tuesday denounced the resignation of the ministers as an attempt “to smear the presidency”.
A succession of Kurdish parties have been banned by courts over the years in Turkey.
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At a rally over the weekend, Erdogan implored supporters to back only “domestic” candidates in November, in what was widely seen as an attack on those sympathetic to the Kurdish minority.
