Turkish Pm Slams Opposition Calls For Kobani Protests

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu harshly criticized Friday a call by an opposition party for street demonstrations. 



On Wednesday, Turkey's pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples' Democratic Party issued a call for a global demonstration in support of Kobani, the Syrian border town currently under siege by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.



Earlier this month, the party issued a similar call via social media, and the result was a week of violent street protests and clashes across Turkey that left at least 38 people and two police officers dead. Damage to property around the country was also extensive.



"It means no lessons have been learnt from the incidents," Davutoglu told reporters following the Friday prayer in Ankara, the Turkish capital.



The prime minister said that he is making a contrary call for people to refrain from demonstrations and any acts of violence.



"In no democratic country is it permitted to make demands for rights through the use of violence and destruction," he added.



The deadly pro-Kurdish protests erupted during the Eid al-Adha holiday, only one day after ISIL militants entered parts of Kobani, also known as Ayn Al-Arab, on October 6.



The protesters accused the Turkish government of doing nothing to halt the advance of the extremists into the border town, which has become the scene of fierce street battles between Kurdish groups and ISIL militants.



Davutoglu said that it is time for the pro-Kurdish party to prove itself as a peaceful political party "fighting only for a political cause."



Turkey has recently allowed the passage of Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces through Turkey to reach the battle-torn town. 



The first batch of Kobani-bound peshmerga troops landed on a private plane at Turkey's GAP Airport from Erbil International Airport early Wednesday, and then were stationed in the Suruc district of Turkey's border province Sanliurfa.



A separate truck convoy carrying their heavy weaponry also entered Turkey on Wednesday via the Habur border crossing in the southeastern province of Sirnak.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Ankara