Iraqi Kurds Join Pro-Erdogan Protests
Fearing setbacks in Kurdish-Turkish relations, Iraqi Kurds have taken to the streets in support of Erdogan, whom many regard as being the most tolerant of Turkey’s leaders toward the Kurdish population.
The square facing the Turkish consulate in the city of Erbil, the largest city in Iraq's Kurdistan region, had been experiencing over the past years demonstrations condemning the policies of the Turkish government headed by Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Things, however, have changed, and the square has begun seeing demonstrations in which participants hold photos of Erdogan, his party's logo and Turkish flags, while expressing fears of Kurdish-Turkish relations being affected if the demonstrations were to manage to topple the government of Erdogan.
On June 15, 2013, a group of Iraqi Kurds and Turks protested, waving pictures of Erdogan, the red Turkish flags, and the logo of the Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP) to express their support for Erdogan, who is facing internal protests.
Erbil has witnessed many demonstrations over the past years against Turkish policy concerning the bombing of the border areas of the Iraqi Kurdistan region by aircraft and artillery under the pretext of targeting PKK sites, or failing to grant the country’s Kurds their national and cultural rights.
