In a pre-dawn operation on 10 October, Turkish police raided the Iğdır (Îdir) provincial office of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party. Special forces sealed off the surrounding streets as they entered the party building which was searched for several hours. The operation extended to numerous houses in the area and resulted in eight arrests, including Mehmet Selçuk, a DEM Party co-chair for Iğdır.
The authorities claimed that the raid was carried out on the basis of a tip-off from an anonymous informant, although no further details were given. DEM Party, known for its advocacy of Kurdish rights and democracy, has faced increasing surveillance and crackdowns by the Turkish government in recent years.
Following the raid, DEM Party members gathered outside their provincial office to issue a public statement condemning the police action. Bahar Etreci, the other DEM Party co-chair for Iğdır, criticised the heavy-handed approach and accused the authorities of trying to stifle political dissent.
“Our office has been besieged by hundreds of police officers. These unlawful raids are aimed at disrupting the ‘freedom rally’ planned for 13 October in Diyarbakır (Amed), but they will not succeed in intimidating us,” Etreci said.
She also highlighted the wider pattern of government repression against Kurdish political movements, saying, “These raids, arrests and detentions are part of the ruling AKP-MHP [Justice and Development Party-Nationalist Movement Party] alliance’s strategy to crush our democratic struggle. But they will not deter us. We will continue to fight for peace and democracy as we always have.”
The DEM Party also condemned the raid via it’s official X (formerly Twitter) account, saying that ‘law enforcement, acting as an arm of the government, is suppressing the party’s right to democratic participation.’
Iğdır il binamız polis tarafından ablukaya alındı, aralarında İl Eş Başkanımızın da olduğu gözaltılar var. İktidarın sopası haline gelen polis ve yargı, her adımıyla demokratik siyaset hakkını engellemeye devam ediyor. Bu çabalar nafiledir. Hedef göstermelerle, gözaltı ve… pic.twitter.com/d1DzXdRtMZ
— DEM Parti (@DEMGenelMerkezi) October 10, 2024
The police action is the latest in a series of crackdowns on Kurdish politicians and activists, who accuse the Turkish government of using the judiciary and law enforcement agencies to stifle opposition voices.
However, the Turkish Supreme Court’s upholding of the jail sentence of Selçuk Mızraklı, former Diyarbakır co-chair for the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), and police raids on local offices of the DEM Party, coincided with signals of softening towards the DEM Party by Turkey’s ruling AKP-MHP alliance.
