The Green and Left Future Party (YSP) held its Fourth National Congres on Sunday (October 15) at the Atatürk Sports Hall in Ankara. During the congress, the party changed its name to the People's Equality and Democracy Party (HEDEP). Tülay Hatimoğulları Oruç and Tuncer Bakırhan have been elected as the Co-Chairpersons of the party and both made speeches at the congress.
"AKP's hostility towards Kurds turned the region into a bloodbath"
Addressing the audience, Hatimoğulları emphasized the dire situation in Turkey and Kurdistan, stating that they have been turned into open prisons, with the judicial system being manipulated to create injustice through conspiracy and politically motivated cases. She also highlighted the turmoil in the Middle East, where people have suffered for centuries under imperialism and where the struggle has resulted in the shedding of as much human blood as oil that is fought for. She called for unity and resistance in this region.
She also condemned the Justice and Development Party's (AKP) anti-Kurdish policies, saying that the AKP's hostility towards the Kurds has turned the region into a bloodbath. She called on the Arab world for peace in the Middle East, emphasizing that solving the Kurdish and Palestinian issues is essential.
Hatimoğulları stressed that the Kurdish issue is not just a problem for the Kurds but for all, as it affects everyone, causing economic crises, poverty, and suffering for all citizens. She called for peace and the establishment of conditions for people to live together in a humane, equal, and brotherly manner.
Furthermore, she highlighted the need to lift the isolation on PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan in prison, which she cited as a significant obstacle to solving the Kurdish issue, and called for his immediate release.
"Peacemaker in Palestine war machine in Rojava"
Bakırhan, who greeted all in the congress first in Kurdish, began by acknowledging the similar suffering in Rojava and Palestine, where they face bombings, lack of basic services, and attacks on their places of worship. He condemned the hypocrisy of those who portray themselves as peacemakers in Palestine but as war machines in Rojava.
He also pointed out that the Kurdish and Palestinian issues have been left unresolved, leading to an economic focus on war rather than addressing the deep economic crisis in the country. He criticized the government for spending a significant budget on the war in the past 25 years while neglecting housing, inflation, poverty, and hungry children.
Bakırhan declared in his speech that the Kurdish issue is a matter of usurping will, appointing trustees, restricting political rights, banning Kurdish, causing ecological destruction, and keeping numerous politicians and activists imprisoned. He emphasized that the problem has a democratic solution, and Abdullah Öcalan is the interlocutor for that solution.
Four people were detained following yesterday on charges of displaying a poster of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan during the congress and Anadolu Agency reported today that one of the four individuals has been arrested.
What happened?
People's Democracy Party (HDP), which was at risk of being closed due to the ongoing closure case at the Constitutional Court participated in the parliamentary elections held on May 14, 2023, under the YSP (Green and Left Future Party) lists.
On August 27, 2023, with its 4th Extraordinary Congress, HDP suspended its activities and decided to continue the political struggle under the YSP umbrella.
YSP held its Fourth Grand Congress on October 15, 2023, and changed its name to the People's Equality and Democracy Party (HEDEP).
(RT/PE)