As Turkey’s 14 May presidential and parliamentary elections that could end the two-decade rule of the Justice and Development Party approach, international support for the country’s pro-Kurdish left-wing opposition is growing.
Members of the Left Group of the European Parliament answered questions from Medya Haber TV’s Erem Kansoy about Turkey’s critical elections.
Danish MEP Nikolaj Willumsen told Kansoy that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been committing injustice against the people of Turkey for the last 20 years.
In addition to deteriorating economic conditions and corruption in the country, Willumsen said that there were also severe crackdowns on fundamental basic human rights and that politicians, journalists and trade unionists who criticised Erdoğan were being sent to jail simply for exercising their right to freedom of expression.
“And we need to be aware that Turkey is a member of the Council of Europe. Erdoğan has an obligation to secure fundamental democratic human rights for the citizens of Turkey,” said the MEP. “But this has not been the case.”
Willumsen noted that they have seen Erdoğan resort to extreme methods under pressure before, and said, “There’s one thing that can stop that and that is the brave people of Turkey.”
The MEP sent a message of solidarity to Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Green Left Party, urging everyone to exercise their democratic right to vote and expressing his hope for strong results on Sunday’s polls.
A large delegation of the European Parliament’s Left group, including Spanish MEP Idoia Villanueva, is set to travel to Turkey to observe the elections.
Villanueva too expressed support for the Green Left Party for a democratic Turkey and called on people to go to the polls.
“We think the upcoming elections are very very important to establish a real democracy so it should be very important for everyone to go to participate in this important day,” she told Kansoy.
