‘Erdoğan’s name goes down in history as an authoritarian leader and it is done’

* Photo: Selahattin Demirtaş Twitter account

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Selahattin Demirtaş, who has been behind bars since November 2016, has answered the questions of Beril Eski from Kısa Dalga website.

The former Co-Chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Demirtaş has been held in Edirne Prison despite the rulings of release and rights violation of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) Grand Chamber and the Constitutional Court, the top court of Turkey.

In response to Beril Eski's question regarding the statements of the government which equates the HDP with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Demirtaş has underlined that "while the HDP defines the Kurdish question and the PKK in the most realistic perspective that would contribute to the resolution, they equate the HDP with the PKK because the HDP's definition contrasts with the official definition of the state."

He has noted, "While even the PKK does not see the HDP as its spokesperson or representative in any way whatsoever, some still insistently try to portray the HDP as the PKK's spokesperson or political wing."

'Erdoğan regrets having ended the resolution process'

According to Demirtaş, Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan "does not have a new resolution process for the Kurdish question in mind." Demirtaş has said:

He is already saying, 'There is no Kurdish question.' Why would he initiate a resolution process for a problem that does not exist on his part? On the other hand, I am sure that Erdoğan has deeply regretted that he ended the resolution process. Because since then, he has been unable to pull [himself] together. He has tried to compensate for his lost legitimacy through authoritarianization. He is already allergic to democracy. He has been driven away too much in the last five-six years. His name has gone down in history as an authoritarian leader and it is done.

Demirtaş has noted that the resolution process, which spanned from early 2013 to mid-2015, was not transparently run, adding, "They are calculating an increase in their votes with a new Syria war."

Demirtaş has said, "If we had been able to establish peace back then and stop the deaths, the statues of those who contributed to this would have been put up, metaphorically speaking. When I said, 'The statues of [imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah] Öcalan's statues will be erected', that was exactly what I meant. Because on the day when I made that speech, two letters of Öcalan were in the hands of Erdoğan. In those letters, Öcalan was saying that he was ready to make [them] lay down arms. And I myself heard this from the then Minister of Justice."

Referring to the current court cases against himself as well as other politicians, Demirtaş has added, "Now they are using that speech against me without feeling any shame about this. I am standing trial because of this. Erdoğan makes people watch the video of that speech at rallies. In fact, both Erdoğan and all state officials know very well what I mean. I said that Öcalan would make [them] lay down arms and - of course, metaphorically - 'his statues would be erected.' These are the consequences of the resolution process run without transparency."

Possible snap elections

Selahattin Demirtaş has also answered the question, "Do you think that a snap election will be held in Turkey?"

He has said, "I think that elections will definitely be held before June 2023. Everyone must be ready for the election anytime. Because there is no sustainable governance. A great economic collapse may happen any moment. Everything can collapse, including money markets."

Noting that the opposition must be prepared for all possibilities, he has said, "the works of ballot box safety, the training of polling clerks and similar other works should have been already completed."

Demirtaş has said that "all opposition parties have not yet established a joint and central election result monitoring system and have not yet made some test runs" with such a system. Indicating that "they should try the system everywhere, from Şemdinli to Keşan, to see if it works," Demirtaş has said, "The 2017 referendum and the 2018 election were lost because of this."

'A language to motivate resistance'

According to Demirtaş, the issues of alliances and candidacy are among the issues that should have been already discussed based on principles: "They should have a thought-out and well-planned strategy to follow at the moment when a decision for election is given."

Demirtaş has also stressed the importance of using a language which is full of courage and hope and will motivate resistance, instead of statements that would concern the voters such as "political murders," "he won't go even if he loses", "he will rig the elections and win in someway."

Demirtaş has added, "Society must also be informed about issues such as a possible Syria war and explain to them clearly that whatever they did and do is not for the homeland, but for the election." (DŞ/SD)