Deniz Güzelay, İstanbul Vice-Chairman of Grey Wolves, officially known as Ülkü Ocakları, and his two friends shared their photographs with automatic guns in social media to threaten Kurds over disputed Kirkuk region in Iraq. Güzelay has written under the photo that “5.000 idealist (known as Ülkücü) are ready to go to Kirkuk.”
According to a report by Hürriyet daily, İstanbul Grey Wolves Provincial Vice Chairman Güzelay and Kağıthane Grey Wolves Chairman Engin Kayacık took photographs with automatic weapons in front of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) flag. MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli is known as the ruling AKP chairman and Turkey’s autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main ally in its repressive policies against Kurds and the Gülen movement.
Güzelay is also seen quoted MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli under a photograph he shared in his Instagram account. He has written that “Everyone should know and plan according to that we take the risk of every suffering, every difficulty and every trouble for the survival of the Turkishness, assurance of continuation and scatter of the nightmares over the Turkmen regions” and “5000 idealist ready to go to Kirkuk.”
Following the massive reactions in social media and after he was exposed in the media, Güzelay removed his post with a photograph showing automatic guns in his and his friends’ hands.
Kirkuk is a issue between Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen in the region. The Iraqi parliament on Wednesday has asked Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi to send troops to the Kurdish-held region of Kirkuk and take control of its oilfields, as the prime minister demanded that Kurdish administration “cancel” the outcome of the independence referendum. Kirkuk, claimed by the Kurds, is also home to Turkmen and Arab communities. The KRG included it in the independence referendum held on last Monday.
“The government has to bring back the oilfields of Kirkuk under the control of the oil ministry,” said the resolution voted by parliament in Baghdad. It called on Abadi to “issue orders for the security forces to deploy in the disputed areas, including Kirkuk.” In a speech to parliament, Abadi renewed his ultimatum to Masoud Barzani’s KRG to hand over control of international airports by Sept. 29 or face a ban on direct international flights to the Kurdish region.
