HDP Co-Chair Sancar: Migration is a product of war policies

* Photo: HDP Press

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Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair and Mardin MP Mithat Sancar, Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Co-Chair and Diyarbakır MP Saliha Aydeniz and the delegation accompanying them paid a visit to Turkey's Kurdish-majority eastern province of Bitlis yesterday (July 29).

Addressing the people there, Mithat Sancar said that "they do not make any calls to other parties and they will introduce democracy together with the people." Saying, "We will struggle to the end. We will keep on struggling on our own path," Sancar briefly stated the following:

"This path is the path of a democratic solution for the Kurdish question; it is the path of freedom and equality. We will walk on this path and bring democracy to Turkey together with you, the democrats of Turkey.

"No one should misunderstand us when we talk about the democrats of Turkey. We do not make any calls to other parties.

"This or that alliance is not our concern. This or that candidate is not our concern. We keep walking on our path together with you. We will make our decisions with our people and Turkey's democracy forces."

'Our path is obvious'

Announcing that they will issue an "attitude document" in September, Sancar said: "No matter who comes... Those who come can do so, those who do not can continue walking on their own path. They will see that they cannot walk without the HDP and that they will give an account to people later on. For this reason, we say that we will walk on our own path.

"We want the unity of the Kurdish people. We will do our best to bring the Kurdî alliance to the widest possible extent, for this reason.

"We will keep working together with the oppressed and democrats of Turkey; but our path is obvious. Our path is justice, democracy, freedom, equality and peace. There is no room for racism on this path. There is no room for exploitation, plunder or unearned income on this path."

Xenophobia

Sancar also talked about the recent migratory waves from Afghanistan and the escalating xenophobia in this context:

"I would like to draw your attention to the recently escalating xenophobia. As you know, migrants are coming here from the Iran border. Why are these people fleeing now? The easiest way is racism, the easiest way is to blame those people. These people are escaping from the war. They are fleeing because they cannot find a peaceful life and life safety in their own country.

"We know how the government wants to use the migrants. We know what kind of a bargaining, blackmail and population exchange plan the migration policy is. We know that they want to utilize them.

"But migrants are not responsible for this. The Kurdish people are the first people who would not have the slightest racism. We know the racism faced by our workers who had to migrate from here to the west due to poverty, who go to the Black Sea, Marmara, Sakarya and the Aegean.

"For this reason, whoever talks to us about racism, let's stop them. Our solution is clear. The issue of migration is a product of war policies. The way to stop this is to demand peace. We are struggling to ensure that all people can live freely in their own lands.

"We want freedom, peace and democracy for Turkey, for the Kurdish people and for all other peoples. We want it for the Middle East as a whole. We say 'no' to war. Peace is our path. We will never give credence to racism. We call on you all to be sensitive about this issue."

Concluding his remarks, HDP Co-Chair Mithat Sancar reiterated his call to the people of Bitlis to get vaccinated against COVID-19. (DŞ/SD)