Opposition must understand people's fears, says arrested mayor Ayhan Bilgen

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"Fear" has become the key determiner of Turkey's politics, according to Ayhan Bilgen, who has been dismissed as the Mayor of Kars and remanded in custody as part of an investigation against the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).

"We can't make room for hopes without ending fears. Fear is the most decisive emotion in culture and political relations in Turkey," he said in a statement published on Twitter by his attorneys.

Bilgen, along with more than 80 other HDP members, was detained on September 25 and remanded in custody on October 2 in an investigation into the 2014 "Kobani protests," which mainly took place in Kurdish-majority provinces and claimed 46 lives.

While several rights groups and opposition parties have criticized the investigation, which they say is "politically motivated," the government has accused the HDP of orchestrating the protests.

"Instead of claiming that fear is meaningless, the priority of the opposition should be trying to understand the fear and eliminate the reasons for it," he said.

Saying that the fear should be understood correctly and shouldn't be underestimated both in terms of history and recent developments, Bilgen noted, "The revanchism that occurs after great social turmoils and political changes is the biggest threat against justice, one of humanity's primary references."

The priority of the opposition in Turkey is to eliminate fear and take steps that will assure the people, according to Bilgen.

"The fear of division, the fear of interference with religions, the fear of losing a job are real fears," he said.

What happened?

As part of an investigation conducted by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office into the Kobani incidents on October 6-8, 2014, detention warrants were issued against 82 members of the HDP, including 24 former Central Executive Committee members, on September 26.

Following these orders for detention, Ayhan Bilgen, Alp Altınörs, Nazmi Gür, Altan Tan, Ayla Akat Aka, Emine Ayna, Sırrı Süreyya Önder, Bircan Yorulmaz, Gülfer Akkaya, Berfin Özgü Köse, Dilek Yağlı, Can Memiş, Günay Kubilay, Bülent Barmaksız, Zeki Çelik, Pervin Oduncu, İsmail Şengün, Ali Ürküt, Cihan Erdal, Emine Beyza Üstün were taken into custody.

On the day of the operation, the detainees were taken from other provinces to the Ankara Security Directorate in the capital city. While they were restricted from meeting their attorneys for 24 hours, the HDP politicians started to meet their attorneys as of September 27.

Using their right to remain silent at the security directorate, HDP Central Executive Committee member Alp Altınörs, HDP Foreign Relations Commission member Nazmi Gür, Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) former Co-Chair and MP Emine Ayna, HDP former Central Executive Committee members Bircan Yorulmaz, Gülfer Akkaya, Berfin Özgü Köse, Dilek Yağlı, Günay Kubilay, Bülent Parmaksız, Pervin Oduncu, İsmail Şengün, HDP former General Bookkeeper Zeki Çelik, HDP's RTÜK member Ali Ürküt and former MP Prof. Dr. Emine Beyza Üstün were brought to the courthouse for their deposition at the prosecutor's office on October 1.

Having deposed at the security directorate, HDP's Kars Co-Mayor Ayhan Bilgen, HDP former Diyarbakır MP Altan Tan, former MP Ayla Akat Aka, HDP former MP Sırrı Süreyya Önder, HDP former Central Executive Committee member Can Memiş and Cihan Erdal also gave their statements at the prosecutor's office. They were then referred to the judgeship to be arrested.

About the Kobani protests

Before the protests held to support Kobani in northern Syria in 2014, those who were waiting in the district of Suruç, Urfa in southeastern Turkey and wanted to cross the border were intervened with pepper gas and rubber bullets. In the meantime, some pictures allegedly showing ISIS militia crossing the border of Turkey were published.
President and ruling AKP Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made statements indicating that they equated PKK with ISIS. While the wounded coming from Kobani were kept waiting on the border, the wounded from ISIS were treated at hospitals. Several news reports were reported in the press, saying "Kobani fell." These news reports were denied every time.
After the HDP made a call to take to the streets against a possible massacre in Kobani, thousands of people protested in Kurdish-majority provinces as well as Ankara and İstanbul. While left parties also supported these protests, deaths also occurred with the onset of police violence. Street conflicts ensued. 42 people lost their lives from October 6 to 12, 2014.

According to a report by the Human Rights Association (İHD), 46 people died, 682 people were wounded and 323 people were arrested in the protests held between October 6 and 8, 2014. As reported by the AA, 31 people lost their lives, 221 citizens and 139 police officers were wounded.

Conducted by Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor Yüksel Kocaman, the investigation started a year ago. First, the depositions of former jailed HDP Co-Chairs Figen Yüksekdağ and Selahattin Demirtaş were interrogated as part of this investigation. Released in the trial where he had been arrested pending trial, Demirtaş faced another ruling of arrest as part of this "Kobani investigation" on the same day.

(EKN/VK)