Alevi Homes Marked in Istanbul

Unidentified individual(s) marked 25 Alevi homes with blue paint in Istanbul's Kartal district on Wednesday. The Pir Sultan Abdal Culture Association (PSAKD) called on the government to roll into action and bring those responsible before justice, while locals in the neighborhood of Çınardere (Kurfalı,) where the incident took place, also petitioned the district governor's office.

The PSAKD issued a statement demanding an end to all acts of emnity between peoples.

"Our country is rapidly drifting toward chaos in domestic and foreign politics in an environment where bombs keep going off in [Turkey] and in our neighbors. [They] are trying to turn Alevis, Sunnis, Kurds, Turks and Arabs into enemies through policies that fuel ethnic and sectarian differences enacted by the AKP (Justice and Development Party) government that acts as a sub-contractor of imperialism," the PSAKD said in its statement.

"We call on the government to fulfill its responsibilities, refrain from acts and rhetoric that saw the seeds of hatred among our people and bring before justice those incompetent [individuals] who draw meaningless shapes and writings on walls," they added.

A press statement is scheduled to take place at 19:30 on Aug. 24 in Istanbul's Kartal Square. (NV)