Ayşegül Doğan, a spokeswoman for the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, urged Turkey’s ruling Justice and Democracy Party (AKP) to engage with the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) while speaking at the party’s provincial congress on Sunday in Diyarbakır (Amed). “Security policies won’t solve the Kurdish issue,” she stated.
Addressing the importance of Diyarbakır in Kurdish politics, Doğan said, “How many ministers have claimed ‘the solution to the Kurdish issue passes through Amed’? How many opposition leaders have said ‘the road to democracy passes through Amed’? Do you remember their names? You don’t remember their names, but you remember their actions.”
Doğan condemned recent attacks by groups associated with HÜDA PAR in Diyarbakır. “To those who say, ‘We killed your bosses, you don’t know their place,’ I say, don’t try to ignite this fire. Those who ignite this fire will burn in it. No one should extract my words to claim the DEM Party spokesperson made a threat. This is not a threat,” she warned.
Criticising the ongoing Turkish military operations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and North and East Syria, Doğan called for policy change. “These methods have been tried and tested by previous regimes, whose names are now forgotten. You had initiated talks with Mr. Öcalan in İmralı Prison and committed to positive actions. Thus, neither Ankara, Baghdad, Damascus, nor Erbil hold the solution,” she argued.
Doğan questioned the exclusion of the PYD from discussions, highlighting, “In talks with Assad in Syria, you can also engage with the PYD. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have stated, ‘We do not pose a threat to Turkey and are open to dialogue with anyone, including Turkey.’ So why is this opportunity not being taken?”
Calling for Kurdish unity, Doğan reminded the audience of Turkey’s past disrespectful protocols towards the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) President Masoud Barzani and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Secretary General Jalal Talabani. “Those eyeing gains in Erbil (Hewlêr) also eye gains in Kobani (Kobanê). Therefore, all Kurdish forces and political parties must act responsibly against such schemes. Division leads to ruin, unity brings strength. Our call to Ankara is also directed to Erbil, Baghdad and Damascus,” she emphasised.
Doğan declared the end of the trustee regime, stating, “We buried the trustee regime at the ballot box on 31 March. You may silence the voice of Diyarbakır’s MP, but the trustees in Diyarbakır are accused of ‘corruption’ and ‘irregularities.’ The person in question, unfortunately, starts every morning by looking at President Erdoğan’s photo. We have seen what loyalty and competence mean. Therefore, we tell those planning another term of trusteeship: We will never allow trusteeship. As long as you resist and maintain your internal unity, no one can appoint a trustee to Amed. You ousted the trustees; their era is over. Continue resisting.”
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced a significant policy shift towards Syria on 28 June, indicating openness to restoring diplomatic channels with Syria, a country with which Turkey severed ties at the onset of the civil war in 2011. However, Erdoğan’s declaration was met with criticism from various Kurdish groups.
