“It is the government and the state that must now cross the second critical threshold,” said Tülay Hatimoğulları, co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, on Tuesday at a her party’s parliamentary group meeting, as she urged authorities to heed the demands of millions who gathered for Newroz celebrations across Turkey.
Hatimoğulları described the 2025 Newroz as “the most significant and widely attended in history”, with crowds voicing a united call for peace, democracy, and justice. “Millions who filled the Newroz squares raised their voices with a cry for peace, democracy, and justice,” she said. “The freedom and working conditions of Mr [Abdullah] Öcalan were among their strongest demands.”
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Hatimoğulları referred to a heartfelt exchange with former Kurdish MP Leyla Zana at the Newroz event in Diyarbakır (Amed), where Zana reflected on the movement’s journey. “In the 1990s, we could barely find 80 people at Newroz celebrations. If we’ve reached millions now, then we have no sorrow. As the Kurdish people, we have succeeded,” Zana told her.
Referring to jailed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan’s 27 February call for a political solution, Hatimoğulları said, “This embrace of the call left its mark on Newroz 2025. The people of Turkey felt the scent of peace and the hope of democracy with this historic call.”
She emphasised that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had acknowledged a “critical threshold had been crossed” but said that further steps were necessary. “Yes, the first critical threshold has been crossed. But it is the government and the state that must now cross the second critical threshold,” she asserted, calling for dialogue with Öcalan to create a safe environment for a potential PKK congress.
Hatimoğulları warned against what she described as the government’s attempts to delay and obstruct progress, saying, “Palliative solutions, delay tactics, fragmented perspectives, or divide-and-rule methods will only harm hopes for peace.”
The DEM Party co-chair also condemned the Turkish government’s recent crackdown on opposition figures, including İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and other municipal officials, as well as journalists and student protesters, asserting, “The government seeks neither law nor legitimacy. It attacks everywhere using the judiciary as a weapon.”
Hatimoğulları accused the authorities of weaponising state institutions against political opponents. “First, they held İmamoğlu hostage, then they removed İstanbul Bar Association President Kaboğlu and his administration. Then, hundreds of students, youth, and people defending their rights and protesting were detained,” she said.
Police, she added, had used excessive force against demonstrators. “People were tortured in the streets. This is unacceptable. The footage of this torture and police violence was deliberately circulated by their own sources — why? To scare society,” she argued. “Are you going to arrest all of Turkey? Is this how you plan to govern?”
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Hatimoğulları praised the resilience of those resisting government crackdowns, saluting students who have launched a boycott in protest at political detentions and other restrictions. “The youth and university students of this country are exercising their right to protest, and they are being labelled as ‘street terrorists.’ We will never accept this,” she declared.
The co-chair also condemned the increasing use of sexist rhetoric in political discourse, citing attacks on women, including Dilek İmamoğlu, wife of the İstanbul mayor, and Başak Demirtaş, wife of jailed former Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) leader Selahattin Demirtaş. “We, as women, will never accept this. Regardless of who does it or how – we will never accept sexist insults or attacks against women.”
Hatimoğulları concluded by reaffirming the DEM Party’s commitment to justice, democracy, and peaceful resistance. “Resisting for democracy and justice is a right,” she stated, calling for solidarity among those opposing the government’s policies.
