Opposition arrests a further blow to democracy and rule of law Several members of Turkey’s opposition HDP party, including its leader Selahattin Demirtas, have been arrested and detained in Ankara. Reacting to the arrests, Greens/EFA co-President Rebecca Harms said: “I am deeply shocked by the unlawful detention of Selahattin Demirtas and his colleagues. I have […]
Category: communique
PES deeply concerned about detention of HDP leaders Demirtas, Yuksekdag and other opposition MPs
The PES is profoundly concerned about the detention of the leaders of our associated member party HDP, Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yüksekdag and a dozen other opposition MPs in Turkey. The arrests of the legally elected members of parliament, representatives of the Turkish people happens just a few days after a PES delegation led by […]
HDP's Central Executive Board doesn't recognize the appointment of a trustee to run Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality
There is another step taken by the Turkish government, who has normalized arbitrary, unlawful and anti-democratic practices. Passing over the political will of the people of Diyarbakir, the AKP government arrested the city’s co-mayors Ms Gültan Kışanak and Mr Fırat Anlı, who had been democratically elected by the votes of hundreds of thousands of people, […]
Party of European Socialists (PES) members hold talks in Amed
A PES delegation led by President Sergei Stanishev and composed of Arnie Lietz, Member of the European Parliament, SPD Germany, Herbert Schmalstieg, President of USKRE, Former Mayor of Hannover, SPD Germany, Marie Rose Koro, Consular Advisor of Turkey, PS, France, and Giacomo Filibeck, Deputy Secretary General, PES, held a series of meetings in Diyarbakir today. […]
Peoples’ Democratic Party Central Executive Board's statement – A ‘state of obeyers’ is being constructed
A ‘state of obeyers’ is being constructed On 29 October 2016 the Erdoğan-AKP government issued Decrees No 675-676 with the Power of Law in the framework of the State of Emergency. Some of the immediate and concrete results of these decrees are as follows: 10 thousand 159 teachers, health workers, academicians, ministry employees, public employees […]
Demirtaş on the attacks of municipalities – Diyarbakir
You are to give back the people’s will that you have stolen! On behalf of my party I thank all of you for supporting the municipality since the first moment this unlawful practice began. For the last two days no internet connection is provided in any Kurdish city. Oppositional TV outlets are seized and confiscated. […]
HDP executive board call the the Turkish government to halt immediatly unlawful detentions
The government will not be able to make the people’s will surrender. Last night the co-mayors of Diyarbakir City Council, Ms. Gültan Kışanak and Mr. Fırat Anlı, were detained and their houses and the city council buildings were searched. This is an extremely unlawful and arbitrary practice. The Erdoğan-AKP government is continuing to disrespect the […]
Statement by Federica Mogherini and Johannes Hahn on the arrest of co-mayors of Diyarbakir.
Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Johannes Hahn have issued a statement regarding the arrest of both co-mayors of Diyarbakir: “We have seen very worrying reports of the arrests of the democratically elected co-mayors […]
Selahattin Demirtas attends Syriza's annual Congress
Peoples’ Democratic Party co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş attended the 2nd Congress of SYRIZA which kicked off in Athens yesterday and will last till October 16. The Congress was also attended by leading politicians from Kurdistan, including PYD (Democratic Union Party) co-chair Saleh Moslem and PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) Politburo member Melle Bahtiyar. Following the opening […]
Eyyup Doru – Galicia visit
Eyyup Doru, representative of the HDP in Europe, carried out a series of visits in the Autonomous Community of Galicia on October 11, 12 and 13, where he met with Galician MPs, journalists and academicians. He also participated in two seminars organized around the theme of Kurdistan and the evolution of the current situation in […]
HDP denounces closure of Kurdish media in Europe and Turkey
The French group Eutelsat ended, on October 3, 2016, the broadcasting of Kurdish television channel Med NUCE, created in 2013, because of an outrageous and illegal decision dictated by Turkey. The process used by Eutelsat to stop the broadcasting of the Kurdish television channel is similar to the repressive and arbitrary measures taken currently by […]
HDP Delegation meets EP's president Martin Schultz
HDP delegation led by Co-President Selahattin Demirtaş met European Parliament President’s Martin Schulz. HDP Deputy in charge of Foreign Relations Hişyar Özsoy, HDP Deputy in charge of Law and Human Rights Meral Danış Beştaş, HDP Mardin Parliamentarian Mithat Sancar and the HDP european representative Eyyup Doru accompanied Demirtaş during the meeting. The meeting with the […]
Conference at the EP: “Destruction, uprooting and Human Rights violations in the Kurdish region of Turkey"
A conference entitled “DESTRUCTION, UPROOTING and HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS in the KURDISH REGION of TURKEY” was held at the European Parliament in Brussels this Tuesday September 6th. The conference, co-moderated and hosted by the MEP Costas Mavrides (Cyprus), from the S&D Group, and Eyyup Doru, representative of the People’s Democratic Party in Europe, was introduced […]
HDP delegation – South Africa visit
A committee from Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) held a series of meetings in South Africa. HDP Co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş, HDP MPs Osman Baydemir and Bedia Özgökçe Ertan held a series of meetings in Cape Town, South Africa between August 22 and 26. The committee’s first meeting was with Deputy Foreign Minister Nomanidiya Mfekeyo on Monday. South […]
The HDP calls for an halt of the Turkish state's military intervention in Jarablus
On 24 August 2016, the Turkish state occupied the city of Jarablus, North Syria under the pretense of fighting ISIS. The timing of the occupation of Jarablus, which sits on the Turkish Syrian border, is important. The move followed the liberation of an ISIS stronghold, Minbij, by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Minbij […]
Urgent Call for Solidarity on the Closure and Storming of the Daily Özgür Gündem
On August 16, 2016, Erdoğan regime’s attack on the media and press since the July 15 abortive coup took a different turn by the closure of the daily Özgür Gündem on court orders, and the storming of its Istanbul headquarters by special operations police. The quarter-of-a-century-long history of Özgür Gündem represents all there is to […]
The way out of this crisis is not declaring state of emergency, but democracy
Five days after the coup attempt on 15th of July, the NSC and Council of Ministers declared a state of emergency in the country. This step shows the coup attempt might have been blocked, but the desire to rule the country with coup-like, authoritative mentality is ever present. In this period Turkey will be ruled […]
Joint statement – Committee chair Elmar Brok and rapporteur Kati Piri on Turkey
AFET Press release – External relations Members of the Foreign Affairs Committee discussed the motives and the possible consequences of Turkey’s recent attempted coup with Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn and representatives of the European External Action Service on Tuesday morning. MEPs emphasized that to ensure further accession talks, Turkey must stick to democracy, the rule […]
French communist Party: France must stop its support for the bloody regime of Erdogan
The attempted military coup in Turkey, on the night of July 15 to 16, organized by some divisions of the Turkish army revolted against President Erdogan has resulted in nearly 300 deaths in Istanbul and Ankara, over a thousand injured, and resulted in less than 24 hours 6000 arrests. At the call of power, the […]
HDP's statement on the coup attempt
In this challenging and critical days which Turkey goes through, whatever its reason might be, no one should put himself in the place of the people’s will. The HDP is opposed to any kind of coup under any circumstances and as a principle. Turkey immediately needs to embrace a pluralist and liberal democracy, domestic and […]