Demirtaş: “The Government De Facto Ended Dialogue Process”

BDP Joint Chairperson Demirtaş held a press conference in Diyarbakir province, denying allegations regarding his resignation. 

BDP Joint Chairperson Demirtaş criticized the latest reforms: “The package has nothing to do with the process. There is no dialogue. The AKP government de facto ended dialogue process.” 

“AKP ended the dialogue process”

“In the eyes of the public, the government has ended negotiation and dialogues processes. These reforms were made to end negotiations. No stakeholders - Kurds or Alevis or NGOs - were asked about their opinions.  If you didn’t have courage, why did you start negotiation in the first place? 

“It is coward to not back a process that they initiated themselves. Why did you gather all these Wise People and talk about the importance of dialogue?  

“Reforms were drafted with monolithic mentality” 

“These reforms were made to end negotiations. It is not make to deepen or advance negotiations. We have taken risks in order to do so. We are not supporting the process for the salke of AKP but for that people deserve peace.  

“However, AKP wasted all its opportunities. These reforms have nothing to do but to show the real face of AKP. 

“Who are you to give rights like charity?”

“They are saying that they removed dailty oaths. It was not in practice anyways. They also claim that they removed the headscarf ban, women could do anything. 

“They call it democratization when something gets published in the Official Gazette. They are legislating only finished matters. 

“It is not democratization when education in mother tongue is only possible in private schools. 80 percent of Kurdish people are pool. How will they go to private schools? You’ve got schools but we don’t. 

“You will call it equal citizenship when you admit Kurdish kids to your private schools? Nobody will buy this no more. 

“It is mother-born right. Are you trying to give this piece by piece? What is the current obstacle against education in mother tongue? Why not do it? Because PM wants to hold Kurdish people’s rights in his hands. He wants them to depend on them. 

“Who are you to give rights like charity? You are supposed to return all the rights that you ribbed off.  

“Remove the entire electoral threshold” 

“PM was saying that they were not the one to create the electoral thresholds, so he couldn’t be the responsible one to remove them. Now he is coming with three options. Even when discussing, he is framing for the benefit of his party. 

“If you are honestly defending democracy, remove the entire thresholds. Why are you so afraid? Don’t you get 50 percent? 

“We are afraid of narrow-minded men, not headscarves” 

“We are not afraid of headscarves. We support their throughout representation. 

“What we are afraid most is the narrow-minded male mentality. This is the real danger. They are trying to make profit out of women with headscarves. 

“We don’t care about your party”

“When we started this process, we put forward everything we had. We didn’t anymore bloodshed, no matter soldiers’ or guerrillas’ or policemen’s. Was it to bolster your authority? 

“Sorry, we don’t care about your party. We think about the future of society in Turkey. 

“How come you tell cemevis ‘terror homes’?” 

“Alevis are not even cited in the new reforms. Nevermind reforms, an AKP deputy has called cemevis ‘terror homes’. 

“Terror home is the very brain of yours! How come can you tell a sacred place something like that? Have you ever walked past a cemevi in your life? 

“You had done whatever it took to become a deputy and now you are attacking cemevis. 

“Right of the bat in legislative opening, AKP is extending military bills. First one is one Syria ans second one is on Iraqi Kurdistan. One is done and the other one is one the way. 

“Öcalan said the parliament must decide on peace on its opening. Instead, it took two war decisions. 

“What about your promises?”

“Why are issuing a bill on people you are trying to bring down [from the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan]? What about your promises? You only mind your own business. There is nothing else. 

“Guerrilla returns must have been in effect within a month. Now, nobody is even talking about it. 

“Let the mothers of soldiers and policemen know that what AKP is doing will not make your children more secure. 

“First female mayor in a metropolis”  

“In the upcoming elections, we will be under the umbrella of HDP and BDP for the west and east respectively. We have published out program yesterday. Woman quota is our principal attitude. For the first time in Turkey, we are planning to have a female mayor in a metroplis. It will happen by the help of Amed [Diyarbakir] people. “There is no discussion about co-chairperson system. My resignation is out of question. But we know that we haven’t inherited these positions from our fathers. It is given by the people. And we know when to give it back. There is no extraordinary congress either. 

“There was no time that our party was the party of certain people. Neither it was the case that this party was possible with people. Our movement can raise thousands of co-chairpersons from its people.” (EKN/BM)

* Click here to read the original article in Turkish.