Pervin Buldan: We Go on a 2-Day Hunger Strike

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Pervin Buldan spoke at the weekly group meeting of her party today (December 4).

In her speech, Buldan addressed the hunger strike staged by arrested HDP MP Leyla Güven and the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on HDP's imprisoned former Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş.

Here are some of the highlights from Buldan's speech:

"Güven has started a resistance similar to Gandhi"

"Leyla Güven has started an important resistance. It is a resistance which is similar to that of Gandhi. If we can resist all together, I believe that we can defeat this conspiracy.

"I am making a call to the whole public to embrace the resistance of Leyla Güven and to support the same demands.

"One day, you will also need the law, which you have disregarded yourselves. Kurds will never surrender to you. You cannot prevent the progress of the Kurdish people anywhere. History is won not by the cruel, but by the ones who resist. You cannot change the flow of history.

"In the name of solidarity with Leyla Güven, we will go on a two-day hunger strike with our 10 MPs.

"ECtHR ruling on Demirtaş sets a precedent"

"The ruling of the ECtHR on Selahattin Demirtaş has to be immediately put into effect and Demirtaş has to be immediately released. Moreover, this ruling has to be recognized as setting a precedent and all our friends should immediately reunite with their freedom.

"Turkey is a party to the ECtHR and all verdicts given by the court are binding for the country. However, the court does not implement the ruling of the ECtHR upon the instruction of the Palace.

"Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says that 'We do not recognize this verdict.' Are you the President or the Presiding Judge of the court?

"Erdoğan, who does not recognize the ECtHR, says that they will appeal to the international institutions regarding the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. Of course, you can make an appeal, but, there cannot be such hypocrisy." (EKN/SD)