Tuncer Bakırhan, co-chair of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, fiercely criticised the Turkish government’s divisive tactics within the Kurdish community during Batman’s (Elih) Newroz celebrations on Tuesday. “Batman’s memory will never, ever forget,” he declared, in the Kurdish-majority city in southeastern Turkey.
Bakırhan sharply criticised the Turkish government’s efforts to divide the Kurdish community, specifically through the fostering of HÜDA-PAR, a political party succeeding the Kurdish Hizbullah, known for its violent anti-Kurdish actions in the 1990s. The Kurdish Hizbullah was established by the Turkish deep state and the Turkish Gendarmerie Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism (JİTEM) as a counter to the Kurdish liberation movement.
Referring to HÜDA-PAR, Bakırhan took aim at those who claim Kurdish identity aligns with forces in Ankara known for their hostility towards Kurdish rights, such as JİTEM, a covert military unit implicated in countless atrocities against Kurds during the 1990s. “We say to those trying to make us forget our past; Batman is memory, Batman is truth,” he affirmed, referencing the city’s deep-seated memories of suffering and resistance.
During the 1990s, Kurdish regions in Turkey, particularly Batman, became a focal point of the Turkish state’s counterinsurgency campaign, which was characterised by severe human rights abuses, including enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and torture. These actions were often attributed to shadowy state-affiliated paramilitary groups and security forces, including JİTEM and Kurdish Hizbullah, which operated with significant impunity.
While officially never acknowledging the existence of the former, the Turkish state facilitated the political ascent of Kurdish Hizbullah members, including those who had been incarcerated for brutal crimes against Kurdish dissidents. Remarkably, these same individuals secured positions with the backing of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) during the 2023 elections.
After the May 2023 elections, former Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu commented on a television program on HÜDA-PAR’s entry into the Turkish parliament via the AKP list. He outlined HÜDA-PAR’s backing for President Erdoğan as part of a wider political and ideological strategy.
Soylu positioned HÜDA-PAR in contrast to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which he associated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and accused of being secular. He underscored HÜDA-PAR’s conservative values, alleged anti-Americanism and its declared distance from ‘terrorism’, despite its origins in the infamous Kurdish Hizbullah, some of whose members were convicted for anti-Kurdish brutality.
