Kurdish Friendship Group in the European Parliament MEPs, François Alfonsi (Greens / EFA, France) Andreas Schieder (S&D, Austria) Nikolaj Villumsen (GUE / NGL, Denmark), sent a letter about dialogue and cooperation between the MEPs of the Kurdish Friendship Group in the European Parliament and the elected representatives of Kurdistan, and expressed their concern for the […]
Category: communique
Over 22 thousand HDP members arrested since 2015
Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Van deputy Sezai Temelli said, “We are now clearly revealing the name of the regime that has been consolidated since 2015: Fascism,” and stated that opposition parties and social opposition other than HDP should not remain silent. According to the data prepared by the Legal Commission of the Peoples’ Democratic Party […]
Demirtaş: The plot hatched against the HDP over Kobani
In 2014, Kobani also was experiencing ISIS barbarism, just as were many places in Syria and Iraq. There were several protests staged around the world against ISIS’ blood-curdling massacres. As of August 2014, many effective demonstrations were taking place in Turkey as well, and the world’s attention was increasingly focused on Kobani. Voices demanding that […]
Vice co-chair Garo Paylan penned an article for The New York Times
A procession of cars filled with men waving the flag of Azerbaijan, honking and whistling drove through the Kumkapi area in Istanbul, which is home to the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul and many Armenian families. The car rally, on Sept. 28, was a provocation, a threat that filled my community, the tiny Armenian community — […]
Swedish Left Party delegation and Party Chairman Jonas Sjöstedt visited HDP
Swedish Left Party Chairperson Jonas Sjöstedt, Parliament Deputy Speaker Lotto Jonhson Formarve and party member in charge of Foreign Affairs H. Erik Metz Swernaling visited the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Ankara on Tuesday. The Swedish politicians were welcomed by a delegation which consisted of HDP Co-chair Pervin Buldan and HDP Foreign Relations Commission Co-Spokesperson […]
EP Report on Turkey underlines serious concerns
The European Parliament yearly report on Turkey published on Tuesday said that “despite the lifting of the state of emergency in July 2018, the adverse impacts of the two-year long emergency ruling continued to significantly impact on democracy and fundamental rights.” The report added that “the situation in the south-east of the country continued to be very worrying, despite […]
Seventeen more arrests, including the co-mayor of Kars and former MPs
HDP Foreign Affairs Spokespersons’ statement that details and summarizes the latest developments: As we have already informed the international public, the chief prosecutor in Ankara issued arrest warrants for 82 people, many of whom HDP representatives, on September 25th. Consequently, the police detained twenty HDP politicians on the grounds of their role in the Kobane […]
International solidarity with People’s Democratic Party
INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY WITH Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) On 25 September 2020, 82 people whom associated with the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Turkey arrested by the Turkish State. Including recently elected mayors and former parliamentary politicians. This is an attempt to intimidate and silence the HDP as democratic opposition and millions of people who HDP […]
“Helicopter torture” of two Kurdish villagers in Van: Servet Turgut died!
On 11 September 2020, Turkish soldiers detained two villagers in Catak District of Van, namely, Mr Servet Turgut (55), father of 7 children, and Mr Osman Şiban (50), father of 8 children. Families could not get news from them for two days. On 13 September 2020, families were informed that both detainees were under intensive […]
82 more arrests: The onslaught on the HDP continues unabashedly!
The ultranationalist and decisively anti-Kurdish AKP-MHP alliance continues with its onslaught on the HDP under the conditions of a global pandemic. Today we woke up to the news that the chief prosecutor in Ankara issued arrest warrants for 82 more people. So far many of those in the 82-people-list have been detained on the grounds […]
European Parliament Members to Erdoğan: Accept local election results
46 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from different political parties and groups have sent an open letter to the President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The letter as follows: The elected officials are accused of spreading terrorist propaganda and financing terrorism. This accusation is false. So far the authorities have not presented any evidences for these claims. It […]
PES: Erdogan is once again trying to hijack democracy
Statement by PES regarding the removal of our 3 co-mayors: The removal of three democratically elected majors is the latest signal that Erdogan is actively subverting democracy to maintain a grip on power, the Party of European Socialists said today. Yesterday authorities from the Turkish interior ministry appointed State Governors to replace the Kurdish mayors […]
HRW: Removal of 3 Kurdish Mayors from office violates voters’ rights; suspends local democracy in Turkey's major southeast cities
Statement by Human Rights Watch: The Turkish Interior Ministry’s removal of three democratically elected mayors in the major municipalities of the Kurdish southeast and eastern regions blatantly violates the rights of voters and suspends local democracy, Human Rights Watch said today. The Interior Ministry on August 19, 2019, removed the mayor of Diyarbakır, Adnan Selçuk Mızraklı; the […]
Statement by the President of the Congress on the recent suspension of our mayors
Anders Knape, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, made the following statement: I express my grave concern about the decision of the Turkish authorities to suspend the elected mayors of three metropolitan cities in the south-east of the country, namely Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van, and to replace […]
Maja Kocijancic: Dismissals and detentions of local politicians and appointment of trustees seriously risk damaging local democracy
Statement by Maja Kocijancic, spokesperson for EU’s Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the suspensions of our mayors and detainment of hundreds of people in south-east Turkey: Turkish authorities have temporarily suspended the democratically elected mayors of Diyarbakir, Van and Mardin in south-east Turkey while hundreds of people have been detained as part of a […]
Meeting with PACE President Liliane Maury Pasquier and the Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland
A delegation consisting of honorary president Ertuğrul Kürkçü, vice co-chair Hişyar Özsoy, Foreign Affairs Commission spokeswoman Feleknas Uca, Mardin MP Pero Dündar and HDP Strasbourg representative Faik Yağızay met with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe President Liliane Maury Pasquier and the Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland, and discussed Leyla Güven’s […]
The worsening situation of opposition politicians in Turkey: what can be done to protect their fundamental rights in a Council of Europe member State?
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Thursday adopted a resolution on the worsening situation of opposition politicians in Turkey. Summary of the resolution as follows: The Monitoring Committee recalls that political opposition in and outside parliament is an essential component of a well-functioning democracy. In that context, it is concerned about the deterioration of […]
HDP’s delegation is in Portugal to attend PES congress
Our delegation consisting of our vice co-chair and Diyarbakır MP Hişyar Özsoy, Van MP Bedia Özgökçe and our Brussels representative Eyyüp Doru paid visit to Portugal to attend the European Socialist Party (PES) congress held in Lisbon. Our delegation had several meetings with the political groups and personalities during their visit. In her speech to the […]
Joint Statement on behalf of the International Observers Delegation in Ankara
6th – 7th December 2017 We the undersigned make this declaration to serve as a joint statement on behalf of all members of the international observes delegation that have arrived here in Ankara to observe and objectively report on the trial of the two HDP (Peoples Democratic Party’s) Co-Chair’s Sellahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag. […]
Brief of Yüksekdağ’s speech at the third hearing
A brief of Yüksekdağ’s speech at the third hearing of the main case that took place today in Ankara: The judiciary in Turkey has never been fully independent, but then again it has never been as dependent as now, never under so much pressure. It is very clear that there is a hand applying pressure […]