Assailants Attempt to Torch Alevi Culture Association

Unidentified assailant(s) attempted to torch the Alevi Pir Sultan Abdal Culture Association (PSAKD) in Istanbul's Kartal district on Friday morning. The incident came only two days after 15 Alevi homes were marked with blue paint in the neighborhood of Çınardere (Kurfalı) in the same district.

PSAKD's Kartal branch head Ali Yayık said the neighbors put out the fire this morning when they saw plumes of smoke rising from the building.

"They had torched the carpets in front of the building; some chairs and tables burned, but the fire did not grow out of control as the neighbors saw the fire right away and called the firefighters in. Law enforcement officials came in and wrote a report. We stated our complaint," Yayık said.

"Alevis lived here for 40 years without a single problem"

The district of Kartal, where there is a high concentration of Alevis, has never seen such an attack before, save for isolated incidents, Yayık said.

"First, they marked the homes. Then they wanted to torch the association following our statement condemning that incident. The families residing in the homes [marked with blue paint] were nervous. They say they have lived [here] for 40 years without encountering a single problem with their neighbors. There are people who emigrated from every region here, and no problems arose until this day," he said.

PSAKD had called for those responsible for marking Alevi homes to be brought to justice in a statement yesterday. The incumbent Justice and Development Party (AKP) is trying to turn Alevis, Sunnis, Kurds, Turks and Arabs into enemies through policies that fuel ethnic and secterian differences, PSAKD had also said in its statement.

The PSAKD is scheduled to issue a press statement at 19:30 in Istanbul's Kartal Square today. (NV)

*Photography by soL Portal reporter Ufuk Arıkan