The Basque EH Bildu senators Josu Estarrona and Gorka Elejabarrieta have raised serious concerns about the Turkish government’s ongoing repression of Kurdish activists, journalists and politicians, particularly in the context of the upcoming local elections on 31 March. The two senators took a proactive step by tabling a question to the Spanish Foreign Minister in Madrid on Friday to highlight the dire situation.
The Turkish government has been accused of systematically repressing the Kurdish political opposition. This is exemplified by its treatment of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which has faced numerous crackdowns, including the arrest of its members and leaders and the ongoing closure case against the party, crippling its ability to function as a significant opposition force within the country.
“Turkey arrested 126 pro-Kurdish activists, journalists and lawyers during the last presidential and parliamentary elections in 2023. In those elections, the European Union urged Turkey to address electoral shortcomings in the face of massive allegations of irregularities, and the Spanish Foreign Ministry filed a complaint with Ankara over the expulsion of a Spanish delegation a day after the OSCE drew attention to pro-Erdoğan media bias,” the senators said, stressing that the situation has worryingly deteriorated in the run-up to the local elections.
The question tabled by the EH Bildu senators calls on the Spanish government to unequivocally condemn the repressive actions of the Turkish government and to take concrete measures to support the Kurdish population and democratic political options in Turkey.
