DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- The banned Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, launched a campaign in southern Turkey targeting people and organizations supporting the ruling party in Ankara.
The PKK, labeled a terrorist organization by Ankara, Washington and others, has launched a smear campaign against entities that are cooperating with the ruling Justice and Development Party, Turkey's English-language daily Today's Zaman reports.
Emin Aktar, a lawyer in the southern Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, said that the practice is common in the region, however.
"The mentality of those who profile is 'either you are with us or you are against us.' Profiling is nothing new," he said.
Tensions between Ankara and the Kurdish minority in Turkey appeared to improve in 2009 when the government announced plans to embark on an effort to find a political solution to lingering acrimony.
The effort was unsettled following a court decision to ban the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party from the political process, however.
The Kurdish south of Turkey erupted in protests in December in the wake of the ban, and officials have rounded up scores of pro-Kurdish politicians as tensions escalate.
