AKP announces parliament candidate involved in attack on Syria’s Afrin
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) announced its list of candidates for the Turkish parliament, which included a candidate from the southeastern state of Şırnak, who had participated in the attack on the Afrin region, northwest Syria.
The Kurdish news agency Mezopotamya reported that Arslan Tatar, one of the armed men close to the Turkish government who actively participated in the attack on Afrin at the beginning of 2018, is nominated by the AKP to run for parliamentary elections, representing Şırnak.
Turkish parliamentary and presidential elections are scheduled to take place on May14. Analysts see them as “fateful” for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
According to the report, Tatar was a member of Turkey’s extreme Nationalist Movement Party. He later joined the ruling party and is the right-hand man of the Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu.
Tatar participated in establishing Turkish military posts and stations in Kurdish mountainous areas and cutting down trees. He owns mineral extraction projects in southeastern Turkey, according to the report.
The Turkish candidate, Tatar, is the son of Mehmet Tatar who was close to Tansu Çiller, Turkey’s Prime Minister in the nineties.
At the time, the so-called “unsolved murders” emerged in Turkey, mostly targeting Kurdish figures, referring to his father’s involvement in those crimes.
Arslan Tatar supported the attack on Afrin in several media statements. At the time he said he would deploy armed military groups under his direct management, according to the report.