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ERBIL (Rudaw) – Selahettin Demirtas, co-chair of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), bitterly denounced the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Tuesday, alleging it is little more than an “extension of” the Islamic State group (ISIS).

Demirtas was deflecting claims by the Turkish government that the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), which is affiliated to Turkey’s outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) had attacked Turkey.

“What kind of an enmity against Kurds is this that they (AKP) await a bombing in some part of the country just to accuse the PYD?” he asked, while addressing his party’s deputies, the Hurriyet Daily News reported.

“Did the PYD throw a single stone at you from (Syria)?” he asked rhetorically. “I am not talking about bullets, but stones.”

Referring to AKP accusations that HDP is an extension of PKK, Demirtas said that the ruling party itself was a terrorist extension.

“Is there any better terror extension than you (AKP)? You are the extension of ISIS. And this is your hypocrisy. Our party keeps calling for peace as yours is doing all this and you expect us to remain silent,” he argued.

Turkey has been bombing the armed wing of the PYD, the Peoples Protection Units (YPG), in Syria in a bid to halt its offensive against armed groups in northwestern Syria.

Following the Ankara bombing which left 28 people dead last Wednesday, the Turks stepped up those cross-border artillery attacks.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is firmly backed by the AKP, has in the past dubbed both the HDP and the PYD as mere extensions of the PKK, which is banned in Turkey and is once again fighting a war against the Turkish state.

Demirtas condemned the government’s crackdown on the PKK in Cizre and the wider Kurdish-majority southeast and claimed their repressive actions have seen another 500 young people join the PKK.

The campaign for the constitutional referendum in Armenia officially ended Friday with the Republican Party in power (HHK) reiterating its confidence in the fact that President Serzh Sargsyan will win popular support for the country’s transition to a system Parliamentary government.

The HHK spokesman, Eduard Sharmazanov, predicted that Sunday’s referendum will translate into votes “incomparably without equivalent” to the constitutional amendments drawn up by Serzh Sargsyan. He dismissed contrary statements made by the Armenian National Congress (HAK) and other opposition groups against the proposed changes.

Eduard Sharmazanov argued that they attracted only small crowds at their rallies in recent weeks. “A wedding celebration attracts more people than a HAK rally,” he quipped at a press conference. He stressed in particular the number of people who attended the most recent manifestation of the HAK held Thursday Liberty Square in Yerevan.

Speaking at the rally, one of the leaders of the opposition party, Levon Zurabian, the HAK said that and his allies successfully convinced most Armenians that constitutional reform is only intended to extend the reign Sarkisian beyond 2018.

Levon Zurabian said the authorities can not get a “yes” without falsifying the results of the referendum.

The public salvation front Armenia New, more radical opposition bloc who runs a non-stop sit-in in the same square, attracted only few people so far. But even so, its leaders said Friday they will succeed to overthrow Serzh Sargsyan soon.

One of them, Zhirayr Sefilian, announced qu’Arménie New actions will launch “decisive” immediately after the Sunday closing of the polling stations. “We’ll spend the night here,” he has told reporters. “There will be stairs to different buildings, street closures, pressures and so on.”

“If they try to force a vote in favor of the” yes “… people will have to impose their will and ensure the cancellation [of the referendum results,]” said Zhirayr Sefilian.

New HAK Armenia and argue that the parliamentary system would allow Serzh Sargsyan to stay in power after his last presidential term, which ends in 2018. Serzh Sargsyan gave them ammunition Thursday by refusing to explicitly reaffirm its earlier promises not to become the first minister or parliament speaker if Armenia turned into a parliamentary republic.

Leaders of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun-FRA), an opposition party strongly supporting the constitutional reform, claimed Friday that Serzh Sargsyan was leaving the government in 2018 if édictait his constitutional changes. They also reiterated their view that these changes would significantly strengthen democracy and the rule of law in the country.

“If we do not change this system, this crisis will deepen and nothing will change in the lives of our citizens,” Armen Rustamian said the FRA.