Brussels, December 11, 2014
The HDP Party’s Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtas , accompanied by the HDP representative in Europe M. Doru Eyyup, met the President of the PES Sergei Stanishev this morning in Brussels. The main discussing points were the current situation in Turkey and more generally in the Middle East, the Kurdish question and the accession’s process of Turkey into the EU. They discussed at length the current policy of the AKP government and its impact on the peace process and on the Kurdish question, the current conflicts in Syria, the phases of accession of Turkey to the European Union and the forthcoming Turkish parliamentary elections in June 2015.
Mr. Demirtas emphasized the regressive tendency of the current government not only on issues of minorities and the Kurdish problem, for which he stressed the urgent need to move from a dialogue stage to a stage of negotiation, transition that is expected or it will seriously compromise the ongoing negotiation process, but also on environmental perspectives and gender equality. He highlighted in particular the deep impasse of the current negotiations process because of the highly bureaucratic organization of the AKP, its centralizing tendency through its generalized system of decision driven by the logic “one person decides”, and the absence of meaningful opposition parties.
He also highlighted the danger posed by the new law authorizing the transfer of maximum power to the enforcement of the state and its consequences for the right to assembly. The new measures permitted by this law will specifically affect the assembly rights and the freedom of expression in the near future, especially for the Kurds.
He added that the HDP would run in the elections as a political party and if the latter managed to exceed the 10% threshold, a new step will be taken not only in Turkey but also in the entire Middle East, because the party will play a model in the fight against all nationalism and radicalism throughout the region.
He said that once this goal is achieved, the progress of the Daesh organisation will naturally slow down, before warning that the role played by the AKP government in this progression was dangerous and unhealthy.He concluded by outlining the problem of refugees that currently populate regions of North Kurdistan and discriminative state policies towards them. He also warned of the problem of the diversion of the flow of international aid funds channeled through state structures for the benefit of their own organizations.
Mr.Stanishev for his part said that he shared the views expressed by Mr. Demirtas, including the autocratic President Erdogan, the increasing centralization of power in the hands of the regime that followed the economic vitality, anti-democratic and oppressive measures toward the people, and considered all these perspectives as disturbing and of great concern.
The meeting was fenced by mutual agreement to organize future meetings of broader diplomatic level.