HDP delegation – Visit Berlin

DSC_9383An HDP committee headed by co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş have held a series of visits with German political parties and democratic groups in Germany’s capital Berlin.
Amed Metropolitan Municipality Co-mayor Gültan Kışanak, HDP Foreign Affair Chair and Bingöl MP Hişyar Özsoy and HDP Europe representative Eyüp Doru were also taking part in the committee.
The topics of the visits have been the war in Rojava and Northern Kurdistan,  the growing issue of asylum seekers and Turkey-EU relations, on which the committee has voiced criticisms and suggestions.
The HDP committee arrived in the German capital and started their intense 2-day long program yesterday by first meeting Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Foreign and Security Policies Advisor Christoph Heusgen.
They have also hold meetings with CDU/CSU Foreign Relations Representative Jurgen Hardt and Andreas Nick.
The delegation later continued their visits with the Co-chair of the Green Party Cem Özdemir and Federal German Parliament Chair Norbert Lammer.
Demirtaş and the committee met with representatives from several media outlets as well. Concluding the program of the first day, Demirtaş attended the Hertie School of Governance University’s panel discussion as a speaker. The panel was moderated in English by Dilek Kurban and around 250 people attended, including ambassadors, politicians, scientists and individuals from different groups.
Demirtaş spoke in the panel discussion titled “Turkey-Germany Relations After the EU Refugee Crisis” and asked:
“What is Germany saying exactly on the reality of war that has forced people to leave their country, what is the EU saying?”
HDP co-chair expressed that there had been a negotiation for refugees but there were no projects presented on how to end the war in Syria or the clashes in Turkey.
Demirtaş stated that the EU had conducted an unscrupulous negotiation with Turkey and turned the refugees into a point of negotiation like slaves and that they expected a concrete stance from the EU regarding the war.
Amed Metropolitan Municipality co-mayor Gülten Kışanak met with former Hannover Municipality mayor and honorary head of USLRRE (Union of Socialist Local and Regional representatives in Europe) Herbert Schmalstieg and Vice Secretary General of Union of Social Democrat Municipalities Peter Hamon.     20160413_kisanak-sur-icin-almanya-da-temaslarda-bulundu
Kışanak said they had given information on the genocidal massacres in Northern Kurdistan and that both parties expressed their feelings of solidarity. Kışanak also expressed that the Union of Social Democrat Municipalities will put the massacres in Kurdistan on their agenda and that they will issue a call for sensibility.
The committee met with Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier, followed by a meeting with Vice Chancellor and Social Democrat Party chair Sigmar Gabriel.
The committee met with the vice-president and the Green Party Federal Parliament Deputy Chairperson Claudia Roth as well.
Co-chair Demirtaş  concluded the visit by giving a speech in the group meeting of the Left Party in the parliament.