Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) vice co-chair Tayip Temel has commented on the Turkish government’s attack on the HDP and how it is evidence of the state’s despair in the face of political opposition.
According to a report by the Mesopotamia Agency, Temel said the interrupted phone call made by imprisoned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan did not relieve their concerns, and it was just another way of deepening Öcalan’s isolation. Temel also said the HDP was prepared for the closure case and that the party had many options in their defence.
Regarding the isolation imposed on Öcalan in İmralı Prison, Temel described the isolation as the biggest obstacle for peaceful solutions through dialogue, adding that the condition of Öcalan’s health was a matter of concern for millions of Kurds.
The phone call between Mehmet Öcalan and Abdullah Öcalan on 25 March was suddenly interrupted. Temel said this was a crafty method implemented by the ruling powers, adding, “We certainly do not define that phone call as a meeting. That was not a meeting. That was a means used for manipulating the concerns, anger and demands of millions of people. It is a way of deepening the isolation. That phone conversation increased concerns even more.”
Closure of the HDP
Regarding the HDP’s closure, Temel said, “The agenda certainly indicates the despair of the ruling powers over their inability to tackle the HDP in the political arena.”
Opposition to the Turkish government has become heated in recent weeks after the attempted closure of the HDP and Turkey’s withrawal from the Istanbul Convention. Temel said these actions are driving Turkey towards disaster. “The government follows this path: it is trying to remove Kurdishness in the Middle East. It launched by isolating Öcalan and removing his comunication with the outside world. An then it spread war across several areas in the Middle East. It occupied Rojava [North and East Syria]. It carried out assaults against Iraqi Kurdistan as a so-called operation. It also tried to remove anyone who was resisting inside the country. The policy of leaving the Kurdish issue unsolved and without an interlocutor has been activated one more time. The closure case of HDP is a part of this. That has not worked for any government up to now. And it is a policy that will defeat this government as well.”
It is a political decision
Temel also described the closure of the HDP as an effort to oppress all opposition. Temel said the HDP had made its preparations and would respond by forming a line of political struggle. Finally, Temel stressed that the HDP was a movement, and a movement could not be shut down.
