Selahattin Demirtaş, the former co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), who has been held in prison for over six years, responded to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent appeal to Kurdish voters by saying “We have not forgotten.”
Erdoğan addressed the Kurdish community with a message starting with “My dear Kurdish fellows,” on social media on Wednesday in the run-up to the 14 May elections. In the message, published just days before the elections, Erdoğan argued that he has fought hard to deliver the rights of the Kurdish people and to prevent the shedding of tears of Kurdish mothers.
“You know very well which hardships we have overcome to come this far and which traps were set in front of us,” said Erdoğan. “Of course, there have been shortcomings and things we wanted to do but could not; but what we have accomplished in terms of rights and freedoms in Turkey is clear.”
Erdoğan ended his message by vowing to work tirelessly until Turkey becomes a more prosperous and peaceful place for all its citizens, including the Kurds.
In response, Demirtaş posted a video on Twitter that chronicled human rights violations during the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) time in power, adding “We have not forgotten.”
The AKP government has been accused of suppressing political opposition and violating human rights, particularly with respect to the Kurdish minority. The HDP has been a vocal critic of the AKP’s policies towards Kurds and has faced legal challenges, including a closure case against the party that is still ongoing, the removal of HDP mayors and the imprisonment of party officials, including Demirtaş.
The president’s message came shortly after Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu explained how Erdoğan had instructed him to remove the mayors of the Kurdish-run municipalities. Soylu said that Erdoğan had told him he was uncomfortable with the HDP mayors, and within two days, they were all removed from their posts.
