The Kurdish Alliance for Freedom and Democracy, formed by the Green Left Party with pro-Kurdish political parties in Turkey, announced its declaration on the 14 May elections in the Kurdish-majority province of Diyarbakır (Amed) on Monday. With the slogan “The unity of the Kurds is the freedom of the Kurds”, the alliance called on all Kurds to unite around the Green Left Party and said, “There is no doubt that we will win when we unite our strength.”
In the declaration, the alliance stated that the elections constitute a historic opportunity for the reconstruction of democracy in Turkey and the resolution of the Kurdish issue, to which the existing electoral alliances based on policies aimed at preserving the status quo in Turkey do not propose a permanent solution.
“A century of experience shows that Turkey cannot progress on the road to democracy without resolving the Kurdish issue. It is clear that the precondition for the democratisation of Ankara is the liberation of Diyarbakır,” said the Kurdish Alliance for Freedom and Democracy, defining the recognition of the Kurdish people’s national democratic rights as a legitimate and humanitarian demand in accordance with international law.
The resolution of the Kurdish issue on the basis of peace and equality with Kurdish political actors will pave the way for democracy in Turkey and increase the level of economic development and social welfare, said the declaration.
The Alliance for Kurdish Freedom and Democracy, which says it reflects the pluralistic structure of Kurdish society, listed the steps to be taken to end the Kurdish conflict in Turkey as follows:
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Recognition of the existence and identity of the Kurdish people and their inclusion in the Constitution,
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Acceptance of the Kurdish language as a language of education from kindergarten to university and recognition of it as the second official language alongside Turkish,
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Creating a democratic environment that paves the way for Kurds to freely organise and express themselves under the names Kurdish and Kurdistan,
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The recognition of a status for the Kurdish people that would allow them to govern themselves in Kurdistan,
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The reinstatement of the Kurdish names of settlements, geographical and historical places,
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Disclosure of the burial places of Kurdish historical figures whose graves have been destroyed or hidden,
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A democratic, pluralist, decentralised Constitution that guarantees the Kurdish people to live together with other peoples in equality, freedom and dignity.
The alliance includes the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), the Green Left Party (YSP), the Democratic Society Congress (DTK), the Democratic Regions Party (DBP), the Azadi (Freedom) Party, the Revolutionary Democratic Kurdish Association, the People and Freedom Party (PIA), the Kurdistan Communist Party (KKP) and the Kurdistan Socialist Party (KSP).
