Türkiye is not a terrorist state, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Sunday, condemning the opposition for supporting the PKK and its affiliates.
Speaking in Sakarya province, Erdoğan said: "They say they are going to take Selo (Selahattin Demirtaş), (who is responsible for deaths of) our 51 citizens (by inciting riots) in Diyarbakır, out of prison, and that they would take out the terrorist leader Öcalan. This country is not a terrorist state."
Sırrı Sakık, a former lawmaker from pro-PKK Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) which was co-chaired Demirtaş before he was incarcerated over the deadly 2014 riots Erdoğan referred to, recently announced that his party plans general amnesty if they win the elections, as he urged main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu to reveal what they have been discussing behind closed doors.
The HDP is not officially part of the CHP-led Nation Alliance, but the pro-PKK party tacitly supports it and has not nominated a presidential candidate.
Winning over 10% of the vote in the past three national elections, the HDP is widely seen as a kingmaker in the tight race, despite the high possibility of being banned from Türkiye’s politics amid a closure lawsuit.
The HDP is generally blamed for becoming the focal point of actions violating the Turkish state’s "unbreakable unity" and having an "active role in providing recruits to the PKK."
Among the past remarks of party leaders proving the close ties to the terrorist group is a statement from Pervin Buldan, the HDP's co-chair, who confessed to previous contact and communication between the party and the terrorist group and praised jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and his role in the foundation of the party by rejecting the fact that the PKK is a terrorist group.
Moreover, the HDP has often drawn ire for transferring taxpayers' money and funds to the PKK. HDP mayors and local officials have been found guilty of misusing funds to support the PKK and provide jobs to the terrorist group’s sympathizers.