Ayşegül Doğan, spokesperson for Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, strongly criticised the recent police operations against Kurdish communities across the country in a speech on Tuesday. Likening the past ten days to some of the country’s most troubled periods, she called for an end to what she sees as a pattern of repression and warned of the dangers of increasing social divisions.
Doğan’s remarks came in response to a series of incidents, including the police blockade of the DEM party’s Van (Wan) provincial office and the subsequent arrests of several party members. “This morning we woke up to the news that our Van provincial office had been surrounded by security forces. The reason given was once again a traditional Kurdish dance, the halay. During the night, houses were raided and many DEM party members, including our Van provincial co-chairs Gülsen Kurt and Veysi Dilekçi, were arrested. Among those arrested are Peace Mothers and provincial leaders,” she said.
Expressing concern about the re-emergence of repressive tactics from the past, she said: “It is clear that some people, some forces or certain blocs – blocs we know only too well from the past – have mobilised. In other words, racists are at work”.
Doğan was highly critical of the government, suggesting that it had failed to learn from history. “It seems that this government, like previous governments, does not learn from what has happened. They do not see, they do not hear, they do not understand, and the most dangerous thing is that they do not learn,” she said.
She warned that these actions could backfire, weakening the government’s position rather than strengthening it. “If anyone thinks they will gain power this way, we want to send a clear message from the DEM party: this will only hasten your downfall.”
Doğan also highlighted the wider implications of the recent crackdown, particularly the targeting of Kurdish cultural practices. “What has happened in the last ten days? There is an attack on the daily lives of Kurds, on their ways of expressing themselves, on their slogans, on their dances, and on their democratic political rights,” she said, noting that dozens of people have been arrested for participating in cultural activities such as dancing the govend to Kurdish songs at weddings.
In a particularly pointed comment, Doğan said: “You cannot invent crimes based on people’s daily lives. And by doing so, you are trying to normalise racism”. She added that this attempt to criminalise ordinary Kurdish life is a ‘very dangerous’ strategy that risks normalising divisive and discriminatory attitudes.
Doğan pointed out that dozens of people have been arrested for using Kurdish symbols such as yellow, red and green colours (the colours of the Kurdish flag) or the term “Kurdistan”, as well as for chanting slogans. She noted that the European Court of Human Rights, the Turkish Constitutional Court and the Court of Cassation have all ruled that these are not crimes but expressions of free speech. “You can ban the slogan ‘Biji Serok Apo’ (Long Live President Apo), but you cannot hide the truth behind it,” she said.
Doğan also issued a broader warning to the government and its supporters, urging them not to use the Kurdish people as a focal point for political conflict. “Who is provoking whom and why? Why is the ruling bloc turning this culture of lynching into its compass? Why are they preparing their own demise?” she asked.
She stressed that the Kurdish people and the political tradition represented by the DEM party are too experienced to fall for these kinds of provocation. Doğan urged the authorities to reconsider their approach and warned against further aggravating social tensions. “Stop dragging society into a dangerous division. Do not create your own downfall by pursuing a policy of stalemate. Release the innocent people you have imprisoned,” she concluded.
This speech underlines the DEM party’s intention to maintain a strong, determined but cautious and experienced stance in the face of recent tensions.
