Demirtaş' Idlib message: Let's raise our voice for peace

Duvar English

Selahattin Demirtaş, the jailed former co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), released a message regarding the death of 33 Turkish troops killed in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib.

Demirtaş expressed his condolences to the families and friends of the killed soldiers and wished a quick recovery to the injured ones.

“I share their pains and sadness with all of my heart. I wish that the policies of war, conflict and tension sustained inside and outside [Turkey] do not cause further destruction and pain,” he said in a letter shared by his lawyers on Twitter.

“In every circumstance, defending peace and solution of problems through dialogue is the most honorable and virtuous attitude. Let us not shout battle cries, but raise our voice for peace,” he said.

One of Turkey's best known politicians, Demirtaş, 46, has been in jail for more than three years and faces several cases against him, mainly on terrorism charges.

He could be sentenced to 142 years in jail if found guilty in the main case.