The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) held its 4th Congress in Ankara, where delegates elected Sultan Özcan and Cahit Kırkazak as the new co-chairs on Sunday. The congress was dedicated to the memory of Perişan Akçelik and Adalet Safalı, two Kurdish Peace Mothers who recently died in a car crash.
Outgoing co-chair Pervin Buldan addressed the congress saying, “Those who would like to see this sapling destroyed, who think they can stop the struggle by means of security operations, manufactured lawsuits, and use of the courts to close the party down should know that they won’t succeed.”
Buldan began by sending greetings to imprisoned and exiled HDP members, paying respects to those who have lost their lives in the struggle for democracy, with a special mention for Deniz Poyraz, who was gunned down in 2021 while volunteering at HDP’s Izmir Branch office. She also expressed condolences for the Peace Mothers who lost their lives in a recent road accident, while travelling from Hakkari (Colemêrg) to Van (Wan).
The co-chair described the HDP as a “sapling of hope,” stating that attempts to dismantle the party through court cases, security operations, or attempts to close it down would not succeed. “Our struggle is everywhere—in the squares, streets, fields, prisons and courtrooms,” Buldan declared.
She listed numerous crises Turkey faces, including the Kurdish issue, gender violence, corruption and the erosion of democracy. Buldan pledged to solve the Kurdish issue through democratic means, dialogue and negotiations. “The state should know that they cannot block the path to peace and a solution,” she said, referring to the isolation imposed on Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Buldan also called for unity among various communities, including Kurds, Alevis, Armenians and Yazidis. She affirmed that the HDP is a party for women, and pledged to continue the struggle for women’s rights. “Women have achieved great victories with the HDP and will continue to lead in all areas of life,” she added.
Acknowledging the party’s unsatisfactory performance in the last election, Buldan called for renewal. “It’s time for a significant change and transformation,” she said, thanking those who have supported her and the party throughout the years.
In her closing remarks, Buldan reiterated that the struggle would continue until justice was achieved. “The oppressors will lose; the oppressed will win,” she concluded.
After Buldan had spoken, the other outgoing co-chair Mithat Sancar also spoke: “We will transfer our entire accumulated experience to the Green Left Party, and make sure that the spirit of the HDP lives on.” This in reference to the party’s plan to transfer its whole administration to the Green Left Party next month, brought about in response to the pressure of a case before the Constitutional Court as the government attempts to close the party down.
Sancar began by acknowledging the party’s 11-year journey, fraught with obstacles and challenges. “Despite the hurdles, the HDP has always found a way to forge new paths,” he said. He attributed this resilience to the party’s deep-rooted ideology and the collective experience of past struggles.
The co-chair was candid about the party’s recent electoral performance. “We are aware that the results do not indicate success. We had targets, and we failed to meet them,” Sancar admitted. He emphasised the moral, historical, and political necessity of self-critique and accountability.
Sancar stressed the need for a stronger line of resistance. “We are the only force capable of bringing democracy, a just peace, and equality to this country,” he declared. He urged the party to be vigilant against external forces trying to undermine its ideology.
Sancar was optimistic about the party’s future, stating that the ideology of the HDP is strong enough to be reborn elsewhere if need be. “We will grow; we have to grow. The social struggle against all the evils inflicted by the current regime awaits us,” he said.
Reflecting on his own journey from academia to politics, Sancar viewed his role as a moral, ethical and political responsibility. “I accepted the call to active politics to contribute what I could from my 30 years of academic life focused on peace, democracy and human rights,” he explained.
In his closing remarks, Sancar left no room for despair. “Despair leads only to surrender, and there is no surrender. The struggle continues until the end, until success,” he concluded.
Newly elected co-chair Sultan Özcan pledged to carry on the spirit of the HDP. “The HDP signifies a perspective and this perspective, a lifeblood, is capable of overcoming obstacles and finding new paths,” she said. Özcan, born in 1965 in Develi, Kayseri, has held positions in numerous trade union and association committees, and was a parliamentary candidate for the HDP in the 2015 general elections.
Cahit Kırkazak, born in 1979 in Silvan (Farqîn), Diyarbakir (Amed), is a Central Executive Board member of the Green Left Party and a lawyer representing Selahattin Demirtas, the imprisoned former co-chair of the party.
