The news that the indictment calling for the closure of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) had been accepted by the Constitutional Court came yesterday during a meeting of the party’s Central Executive Committee.
The Central Executive board members of the HDP, who had been expecting such a decision, took some decisions to deal with the accusations in the indictment. At the meeting of the executive board, the HDP made a plan to come together with forces of the opposition and their allies through a “Campaign for the Defence of the HDP,” and organise rallies and meetings of the people on a scale to exceed that of an election campaign, MA reports.
According to information received from party sources regarding the discussions held by the executive board members of the HDP, it was surmised at the meeting that the Constitutional Court had accepted the indictment as a result of the “threats and bribery” of the Justice and Development Party – Nationalist Movement Party (AKP-MHP) coalition.
The details of the indictment were weighed up at the meeting, and it was agreed that “although there had been some simplification, it was no different to the two indictments which had been [previously] rejected, that it contained no new charges and no new evidence, only that statements, activities, social media messages and press statements in which the politicians had been involved had been made a matter for trial.”
It was noted that a photograph taken at Mount Qandil during the ‘Peace/Solution Process’ of 2013-2015 had been included in the indictment, but also that the photograph in question had been taken with the knowledge of state officials at the time.
In the light of their discussions, the Central Executive Committee members agreed on three main points and decisions.
* They emphasised that they would display resistance, riding the wave of public feeling expressed by “Defence of the HDP”, “Protecting the HDP” and “Not letting the HDP be banned.”
* They defined the attempt to close the HDP as “a coup for political power through trial” and decided that HDP Co-Chairs Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar would go out into the streets and squares to speak out against this “coup.” In the coming weeks, “rallies and meetings of the people on a scale to exceed that of an election campaign” will be organised. The first rally will be held in Izmir, where party worker Deniz Poyraz, who lost her life during an attack on the HDP Izmir Branch Office, was murdered. Activities will be carried out to encourage the participation of all the forces of democracy in the region.
The meeting dwelt on the fact that the closure indictment was accepted two days after the murder of Deniz Poyraz. They evaluated the attack and Poyraz’s murder as “a clear expression of a hostile approach to the HDP, the language of hate and the policy of massacre.”
The meeting noted that the lack of a solution to the Kurdish problem engenders massacre, stated that the isolation of the PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan was at the heart of the problem, and agreed to embark on a comprehensive plan against the isolation.
* Another main headline at the meeting was, “Coming together with forces of the opposition and allies.” The HDP will launch a campaign relating to this. The “Campaign for the Defence of the HDP” was the name that came to the fore for this campaign.
The meeting also dwelt on the procedure of the closure case. Following the acceptance of the indictment by the Constitutional Court, the HDP needs to submit a preliminary defence within the time allotted by the Court, and they will present a clear position in this preliminary defence.
The HDP will submit a political defence on the basis of its own political paradigm. In addition, it will work with many lawyers to render the case legally void and expose the indictment for what it is. This work will be seen as part of the “Campaign for the Defence of the HDP.”
In the meantime, it was reported that literally hundreds of lawyers had applied to the party to work on its defence. The HDP will make a call for all sectors concerned for the future and democracy of the country to “make a protective wall around the HDP.”
