Hundreds of demonstrators marched through downtown Toronto Sunday afternoon to protest Turkey’s handling of a bombing at a rally in that country’s capital which killed 95 people on Saturday.
“Kurds in Turkey were gathering in Ankara to make an international call for peace in Turkey,” Hadi Elis of the Toronto Kurdish Community Centre said.
But a bomb blast caught on tape tore through the street, causing panic along with casualties.
Rojda Erdenir said Turkish authorities have “banned media coverage of the incident,” and are engaging in a campaign to suppress Kurdish political dissent.
Turkey is in the midst of a campaign targeting Kurdish militants near its southern border with Iraq. Elis said the Turkish state oppresses Kurds, who are seeking to establish their own state in the region.
“We’re asking the Canadian government to be the voice of the Kurdish people, to talk with the Turkish government, they have many social, political and military ties they can apply to help the Kurdish people achieve the peace and human rights Kurdish people have been struggling for decades,” Elis said.
Speaking to CP24 on Sunday morning, Conservative candidate and defence minister Jason Kenney said Canada would assist the Turkish government in discovering who was behind the bombing.
The demonstrators marched from the area of Bloor and Yonge streets south to Nathan Phillips Square.
