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| 2014 Kobanî protests in Turkey | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Aftermath of the protests | |||
| Date | October 6–8, 2014 (2 days) | ||
| Location | Nationwide, mainly in southeastern Turkey | ||
| Caused by | Siege of Kobanî, frustration with the Turkish government's response, regional tensions | ||
| Goals | Protesting Turkey’s perceived inaction, solidarity with Kobanî defenders | ||
| Methods | Demonstrations, protests, violent clashes with security forces | ||
| Status | Quelled, protests ceased after a few days | ||
| Parties | |||
| |||
| Number | |||
| |||
| Casualties | |||
| Death | 37 | ||
| Injuries | Hundreds | ||
| Arrested | Over 1,000 | ||
| Damage | Widespread destruction in multiple cities | ||
| Buildings destroyed | Several burned or damaged, including government offices | ||
| Detained | Over 1,000 | ||
| Charged | Over 200 | ||
| Tightened control on protests, further divisions between the Turkish government and Kurdish groups | |||
| The protests were a response to the siege of Kobanî by ISIS and Turkey's perceived lack of support | |||
The2014 Kobanî protests in Turkey were large-scale rallies by pro-People's Defense Units (YPG) protestors inTurkey which occurred in autumn 2014, as aspillover of thecrisis in Kobanî. Large demonstrations unfolded inTurkey, and quickly descended into violence between protesters and theTurkish police. Several military incidents between Turkish forces and militants of theYouth Wing of theKurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in south-eastern Turkey contributed to the escalation. Protests then spread to various cities in Turkey. Protesters were met with tear gas and water cannons, and initially 12 people were killed. A total of 31 people were killed in subsequent protesting up to 14 October.[1]
As a result of the advance of theIslamic State (IS) on Kobanî that began 13 September 2014,[2] more than 200,000Syrians sought refuge in Turkey.[2][3] On 30 September, errant shells landed on Turkish soil and the Turks shot back into Syrian territory, with Turkish armor being brought to the border to deter further incursions.[4] Five civilians in Turkey were injured when a mortar hit their house. Turkey evacuated two villages as a precautionary measure.[5] There were several causes for the protests. Turkish authorities forbidding Kurdish volunteers to cross the border into Kobanî was one,[6] that Turkey refused to launch a military operation in defense of Kobani even though the Turkish parliament has passed a law authorizing one another.[6]
However, Turkish security forces did not allowPeople's Protection Units (YPG) militants and other volunteers to go the other way, using tear gas and water cannons against them.[7] While dispersing Kurdish crowds near the border, Turkish police fired tear gas directly into aBBC news crew van, breaking through the rear window and starting a small fire.[8]
As a result of the crisis in Kobanî, massive pro-Kobanî demonstrations unfolded in Turkey and quickly turned into violence between protesters and the Turkish police. Several military incidents between Turkish forces and militants in south-eastern Turkey, contributed to the escalation. Protests then spread to various cities in Turkey, such asMardin,Bingöl orVan in Eastern Anatolia but also to the western cities ofIzmir andIstanbul.[9]
On 7 October,Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Kobanî would fall to ISIL,[6] and the protests took up force.[10] According to a witness' interview withAmnesty International theJustice and Development Party (AKP) led Municipality's bodyguards attacked protestors inSiirt on 7 October 2014.[11] The same day, several members of theHüda Par, including Yasin Börü, were killed inBağlar,Diyarbakır.[12] As a counter measure to the protests, the authorities inMardin province imposed a curfew in several districts.[13] On 8 OctoberMark Lowen from the BBC reported that 19 people shall have died and that the Turkish authorities imposed curfews in several cities with a majorly Kurdish population.[14] Protesters were met with tear gas and water cannons, and initially 12 people were killed. A total of 31 people were subsequent rioting up to 14 October.[1] The protests came to an end afterAbdullah Öcalan called for their termination from hisprison on Imrali island.[15]
On 1 November 2014, multiple protests took place to support the Kurds of Kobanî. 5,000 people demonstrated in the Turkish town ofSuruç, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the border. At least 15,000 marched in Turkey's largest Kurdish-majority city ofDiyarbakır and 1,000 protested in Istanbul, all peaceful.[16] On 7 November, protests erupted over reports a 28-year-old Kurdish woman activist had been shot in the head by Turkish soldiers on the Turkish side of the border near Kobanî.[17] She was reportedly part of a peaceful group of demonstrators who wanted the Turkish government to allow volunteers from Turkey to join the fight against ISIL in Kobanî.[17]
PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan said that he was not ready to launch operations against ISIL in Syria unless it was also against the Syrian government.[18]
Erdoğan has repeatedly blamed thePeoples Democratic Party (HDP) for the deaths during the Kobanî protests,[10] whereas the HDP blamed Turkish police for the outbreak of violence.[19]
Selahattin Demirtaş andFigen Yüksekdağ, Co-Chairs of the HDP in 2014, were arrested due to other charges in November 2016 but from September 2019 onwards, were also prosecuted for the Kobani protests.[20] The prosecutors initiated the investigation against Demirtaş and Yüksekdağ[21] the same day Demirtaş demanded his release due to a courts verdict, that he was to be released pending trial.[22][21] In September 2020, the investigations were expanded onto the leading politicians of the HDP and theDemocratic Regions Party (BDP) at the time of the protests.[20]Sirri Süreyya Önder,[23] andAyhan Bilgen were detained on 25 September 2020.[24] The prosecution of 82 supporters of the protests during September 2020, has led to other protests against the prosecution.[25] During October,Sebahat Tuncel,Aysel Tuğluk[22] andGültan Kişanak, all imprisoned at the time, received new arrest warrants due to the protests.[20]Gülser Yıldırım was also summoned to deliver a statement, following which she was released into house arrest.[20] In the trial of Kişanak,secret witnesses had been used.[26] The HDP has called several times for a parliamentary commission which would investigate the events causing the protests, but their demands were rejected by politicians of the AKP and their political ally theNationalist Movement Party (MHP).[27] Overall, 108 Kurdish politicians were put on trial in relation to the Kobanî protests.[19]
In January 2021, the president of the MHPDevlet Bahçeli, called for theclosure of the HDP due to its involvement in the Kobanî protests.[28] On 2 March 2021, theCourt of Cassation requested thecase file regarding the Kobani protests[29] and on 17 March the State Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation filed a lawsuit before theConstitutional Court demanding theclosure of the HDP.[29]
In May 2024, several HDP politicians were convicted, among them Demirtaş and Yüksekdağ who were sentenced to 42 and just over 30 years in prison, respectively.[30]
Media related to2014 Kobanî protests at Wikimedia Commons
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