Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Spokesperson Ayhan Bilgen held a press conference in the party headquarters on the recent developments.

Ayhan Bilgen first criticized Turkey’s Syria policies and said: “The policy in Syria has been wrong from the start, and now Turkey is paying for that mistake. They first negotiated with ISIS, and dubbed them ‘an indignant crowd’. When international reaction towards ISIS grew stronger, they continued their relationship over Al Nusra. Our deputies stated numerous times in the parliament that the relationship built with Al Nusra will cost Turkey greatly. Al Nusra was deemed a terrorist organization in Russia, but state officials have made comments that they don’t see it as such. The whole world knows how ‘moderate’ an ‘opposition’ the FSA is. We will soon see the organizations under the FSA structure dubbed terrorist organizations.”

“HUNDREDS OF FUNERALS”

Bilgen also mentioned the casualties in the Euphrates Shield Operation and said: “The public should be informed that hundreds of soldiers may die to take a city from an organization that holds control over a city of 300,000 people. The FSA couldn’t even protect the villages captured before, and handed them back! Who will govern Al Bab? FSA, that can’t even hold one village? Or Turkey?”

“MINESWEEPING MISSION”

Bilgen continued: “Those who have nurtured ISIS until now have given the mission to clean things up to the TAF, like a minesweeping mission. As the Iraq policies returned undesirable results, so will the Syria policies. If some people are destined to die as martyrs, that is because those in power in Turkey have refused to take the responsibility themselves.”