'It's bizarre to ban demonstrations due to Covid-19 amid fast reopening'

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The demonstration bans and police interventions against the Peoples' Democratic Party's (HDP) march from the northwestern and the southeastern edges of Turkey to its capital, Ankara, are "typical police state practices," the Human Rights Association (İHD) has said in a written statement.

The HDP decided to start the "March for Democracy against the Coup" after two of its lawmakers were dismissed on June 4. Two groups of the party's members, lead by co-chairs Pervin Buldan and Prof. Mithat Sancar, started the march yesterday (June 15) from Edirne and Hakkari, respectively.

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The police intervened in the groups several times, detaining many HDP members. Meanwhile, governors of 10 cities banned demonstrations and events due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"It is pretty bizarre that the governorships state one of the reasons for ban decisions as Covid-19. The Presidency has taken every kind of measure and started a fast normalization," the statement said, adding that the bans were also not accurate because only a limited number of people attended the march.

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Noting that Article 34 of the Constitution and Article 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights grant people the right to hold peaceful demonstrations and gatherings and that there were numerous decisions in this regard by the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights, the İHD said, "Attempting to prohibit Turkey's third-largest party from exercising its right to hold assemblies and demonstrations and from carrying out political activities is a typical police state practice."

"The fact that the spokespersons of the government, who talk about the anti-racist demonstrations in the world, denounce the HDP's desire to exercise its most natural right clearly demonstrates that democratic consciousness has not been established and there is a political mentality and a government that is self-democratic and authoritarian.

"Consequently, the HDP's right to carry out a march and political activities cannot be prevented and banned. It shouldn't be forgotten that rights precede laws and administrative practices. The struggle for democracy is legitimate, it cannot be prevented." (EMK/VK)