Tülay Hatimoğulları, co-chair of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, voiced a strong message against warmongering policies at Wednesday’s Newroz celebrations in Tatvan (Tetwan), a district of Kurdish-majority Bitlis (Bedlîs) province in Turkey.
“Our peoples, women and youth will join hands” to bury the government and its allies at the ballot box, Hatimoğulları stated.
The Newroz celebrations, building up to the grand Diyarbakir (Amed) Newroz on 21 March, have become a platform for pro-Kurdish DEM Party politicians to challenge the Turkish government ahead of 31 March local elections.
While Hatimoğulları specifically aimed at the government’s recent plans for a new cross-border incursion into the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan condemned the Turkish state’s efforts to create internal divisions within the Kurdish community by promoting an Islamist party, HÜDA-PAR, as a counterforce, during his Newroz address in Batman (Elih) on Tuesday.
Belkiza Beştaş Epözdemir, co-mayoral candidate for Tatvan, highlighted the essence of Newroz as a symbol of the free woman’s struggle, anticipating victory in the upcoming 31 March elections. “Newroz symbolises freedom, peace and the free woman. This election is about our freedom, culture and history. We will win for our women and people,” she said.
Mümin Erol, the other co-mayoral candidate for Tatvan, drew parallels between the historical struggle of Kawa against Dehaq and the present, assuring victory in the 31 March local elections. Hüseyin Olan, a DEM Party MP for Bitlis, echoed this sentiment: “Our people have suffered for years, but today marks the day of freedom. On 31 March, we will prove this. Tatvan will play a significant role in the Kurdish struggle.”
Hatimoğulları criticised the government’s disregard for Kurdish rights and the destruction of Kurdish graves, challenging the government’s attempts to gain votes in Kurdish regions: “They, who have shown no respect for our dead and desecrated our graves, shamelessly seek votes in Kurdistan. Shall we bury them all together at the ballot box on 31 March?”
Highlighting the selective acknowledgement of Kurdish issues during elections, Hatimoğulları urged for a democratic and peaceful resolution to the Kurdish issue, not just as an election issue but as a perennial commitment to peace. She called for an end to the isolation of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan, emphasising the relevance of his 2013 Newroz message for peace and equality among all peoples and faiths in the country.
