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 […]
Category: news
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 […]
HDP denounces military, but also civilian coup
This July 15, 2016, Turkey faced a coup attempted that was quickly controlled, but nevertheless left 265 dead and about 1440 injured. At the same time, about 8,000 police officers and soldiers have been detained, and more than 7,000 civil servants, including a considerable number of judges and prosecutors, have been dismissed. This failed military […]
Letter from EUROPA NOSTRA to UNESCO concerning the Ongoing Destructions of Cultural Heritage in South-East Turkey
The Hague, 8 July 2016 Mrs Irina Bokova Director General UNESCO Destructions of cultural heritage in South-East Turkey Dear Madam Director General, Europa Nostra, the European Federation of Cultural Heritage Organisations which maintains close and fruitful relations with the European Union and UNESCO, is deeply concerned about the armed conflicts in the South East of […]
Urgent Call of the HDP for Devastating War in Lice
President Erdoğan and AKP government’s politics of war in the Kurdish provinces of the country since July 2015 have reached alarming proportions. Unlawful round-the-clock curfews and military operations continue to harm the civilian population and ecology of the region. The heavy damage that last week’s forest fires and the so-called security measures inflicted on the […]
HDP delegation meeting with Council of Europe officials in Strasbourg.
The HDP delegation has continued its series of talks in Strasbourg where they met Council of Europe officials. Selahattin Demirtas, co-president of the People’s Democratic Party, the HDP deputy for Şırnak Leyla Birlik, the HDP deputy for Bingöl HDP Hişyar Özsöy, the european representative of the HDP in Europe Eyyup Doru and Faik Yağızay had […]
Eyyup Doru – Statement on the immunity lift
DEPUTIES PROTECT DEPUTIES: APPEAL TO BECOME A SPONSOR OF HDP DEPUTIES On May 20th, 2016, under extreme pressure of President Erdoğan, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (GNAT) lifted the parliamentary immunity of 138 lawmakers through a provisional Constitutional amendment. The lifting of parliamentary immunities should be understood as a political coup which is also […]
Preliminary assesment on the lifting of parliamentary immunities in Turkey on may 20, 2016IN TURKEY ON MAY 20, 2016
May 21, 2016 HDP Foreign Affairs Commission On 20 May 2016, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (GNAT) lifted the parliamentary immunity of 138 lawmakers through a provisional Constitutional amendment. This became possible with the joint efforts of an anti-Kurdish nationalist alliance formed among the ruling AKP and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). The Republican […]