A group of international academics, lawyers, trade unionists and activists travelled to Turkey’s Kurdish-majority southeast as election observers to witness the country’s epochal elections to be held on 14 May. In a series of articles to be published every day in Medya News until the elections, Emma Müller, a member of the UK delegation, shares the international election observers delegations’ findings from the ground.
Emma Òr
Every day of the pre-election mobilisation campaign is full of village, factory, and neighbourhood visits. The candidates often start at 8 am and work until 11 pm. Today, we joined them to visit two industrial parks of mechanics. After breakfast, we were picked up by the iconic convoy of cars covered in Yeşil Sol (Green Left) flags and the campaign van playing its election songs (Dîsa Jin, Dîsa Jiyan and Geliyoruz Biz).
Each visit began with a discussion with the manager of the park about the workers’ situation, alongside, of course, drinking tea together. Each manager explained that many people are confused by the voting strategy, and want to know why they are asked to vote for the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). The Yeşil Sol candidates clarified that they will only collaborate with the CHP for the presidential elections, to ensure that current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will not win. However, they will not cooperate on other matters, given their strong disagreements with the CHP’s policies. For the elections, there are three major coalitions: Erdoğan’s coalition, the People’s Alliance, includes the openly-fascist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), as well as the Free Cause Party (HÜDA-PAR) that is directly rooted in Kurdish Hizbullah. The strongest opposition coalition is the broad Nation Alliance, comprised of the CHP, Good Party (İYİP), Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA), the Future Party (GP), Felicity Party (SAADET), and Democrat Party (DP). In this coalition, the CHP is the most centrist, and İYİP, for example, is a far-right party. The third coalition, the Labour and Freedom Alliance, is under the leadership of the Yeşil Sol Party and includes the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Turkish Workers’ Party (TİP), Labour Party (EMEP), Labourist Movement Party (EHP), Social Freedom Party (TÖP) and the Federation of Socialist Assemblies (SMF).
“What you need to do for us is to win”
After the discussions with the managers, we split into two groups, each following one of the candidates and their aides, or local co-mayors of the HDP and Yeşil Sol. Every worker and child was greeted, with special attention given to the few women in the industrial park. Workers were asked how they were doing, how their job is going, and what they need from the party. Most workers identified strongly with Yeşil Sol, were clearly happy for the visit, and wished the candidates good luck.
When asked what the party can do for the workers, a common refrain was, “What you need to do for us is to win”. Others remarked that “This constant repression needs to stop, you are the people’s hope for a liberated future,” and “I studied to become a teacher and now I am not allowed to practice my profession because I am Kurdish and politically conscious”. One worker also complained about the boss of the industrial park being an AKP supporter who called the police on him for alleged support of the Kurdistan freedom movement, leading to him being arrested. A tension plainly exists between different wings of support for the Yeşil Sol Party, which the candidates themselves appear particularly concerned by. The Yeşil Sol Party is not a workers’ party as such, but rather an anti-capitalist party. Further, its anti-imperialist struggle appeals to a broad constituency, across crosslines. This nationalist identity inevitably involves compromises with Kurdish capitalists: while Kurdish workers may describe the HDP or Yeşil Sol as “our party”, Kurdish bosses can do the same.
Crackdown on Kurdish journalists
The visits are always accompanied by independent media. All media that covers Erdoğan and the AKP/ MHP government more broadly critically are subjected to constant harassment by the RTÜK (Turkish media supervision). This harassment can take different forms, like financial penalties or broadcasting bans. Every journalist we have spoken to tells us about the repression they or their colleagues have faced. One journalist shared that she spent six years in prison for her work as a journalist and currently has another two cases against her. Another journalist who works in the local media said: “I am from here and will remain here even if I am criminalised, some of my co-workers were arrested on World Press Freedom Day and remanded in prison”. The passion and resistance we have observed in the candidates, journalists, and in the local population is deeply inspiring.
In the evening we joined another neighbourhood party in front of a Yeşil Sol office. Before the party started, the police had arrived with a water cannon, and around 150 police officers all equipped with firearms. Police attempted to arrest a young man from the youth wing of the party, but the other members de-arrested him and told the police not to disrupt the mobilisation. Afterwards, people were scared to stay, but the live music and govend (traditional Kurdish dances) quickly reminded everyone of the importance of resistance. This was particularly impressive as a form of resistance after the news of the Kurdish street artist Cihan Aymaz having been killed by Turkish nationalists for refusing to sing a Turkish nationalist song.
See also: Election Diaries – 1: Observations from Kurdish villages in Turkey’s southeast
