HDP deputies say government will fail to eliminate the party

People’s Democratic Party (HDP) deputies Tayyip Temel and Murat Sarısaç spoke to ANF about the Constitutional Court accepting the indictment to close the party.

While Temel recalled that the acceptance of the indictment came right after the murder of Deniz Poyraz, Sarısaç said that previous governments in Turkey also sought to end the Kurdish freedom struggle by means of closure cases to no avail.

The Constitutional Court (AYM) unanimously accepted the indictment prepared by the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation, Bekir Şahin to shutter the HDP which was officially established on October 15, 2012. Once the HDP submits its preliminary defense, the Constitutional Court has the right to close the party and impose a political ban on all or some of the 451 executives or members of the party for whom the indictment demands a ban on political activities. The court is also authorised to just suspend treasury grants for the party. If the party executives or members receive political ban, they will not be allowed to be part of any other party for the next five years.

HUNDREDS OF LAWYERS READY TO DEFEND THE HDP

Temel said that, “We are faced with a revised version of a previous indictment which include statements of ‘fake’ secret witnesses. Hundreds of lawyers are ready to defend the HDP. All circles other than the ruling AKP and its ally MHP have revealed they are ready to endorse the HDP and stand in solidarity with it.”

‘MESSAGE TO DEMOCRACY FORCES’

“The Izmir massacre, the gathering of provocateur family groups in front of our provincial buildings and hate speech against the HDP, the Kobani conspiracy trial, and the court’s acceptance of the indictment are all part of a political crackdown against the HDP. However, we know that the government is going through a political crisis and aims to change the agenda with such attacks and initiatives targeting the HDP. They targeted the democracy forces of Turkey with the Izmir massacre. They wanted to give a message to the democracy forces of Turkey by hinting at further political murders, but it was unsuccessful.”

‘THEY CANNOT COPE WITH HDP IN POLITICAL SPHERE’

Sarısaç stressed that the closure cases are political.

“Just as the first indictment was found to be unconstitutional and was returned, this one will give no result either. However, the statements of both Devlet Bahçeli and other bureaucrats constitute a threat against members of the Constitutional Court. This case and the government policies are completely driven by hostility towards Kurds. They want to close the HDP since they cannot deal with the HDP in the political sphere.”

The HDP deputy remarked that the AKP government has lost its legitimacy in the public eye and is resorting to shut down the HDP instead of seeking democratic ways. He continued, “However, they forget that these methods have been tried many times in Turkey before. The only thing that has not been tried is democracy and peace. As long as there is no democracy and peace it is impossible to overcome the problems.”

‘WE DRAW OUR STRENGTH FROM PEOPLE’

Sarısaç talked about HDP’s attitude towards the closure case.

“We learned the legitimate struggle from our comrades before us and we continue it. Huge prices have been paid. Those who think they can get rid of this struggle by closing the party will lose. These are neither my words nor a friend’s, it is a political philosophy from which we inherited the tradition of struggle. No matter how much pressure we face, we get our strength from our voters. These people have paid a great price. The point we have reached today is the power of the people, not the political figures. Our strength is the people, and they don’t understand that. They are trying to survive with a policy based on one-man rule and companies. We do not derive our strength from companies and the judiciary.”

HDP CREATES LAW DEPARTMENT WITHIN THE PARTY

The Constitutional Court is expected to conclude the case as soon as possible or in six months.

The party debates several alternatives in the event of being closed. Establishing a new party, moving to another party that has already been established, dissolution of the party and participation in the next elections independently are being discussed.

The priority of the HDP is to “defend the party” and comprehensive preparation has been made. In this framework, while the Law Commission of the party will be strengthened, a law department that includes well-known lawyers in the public will be established.

A roadmap for the case and defense process will be determined at the meetings to be held with the participation of HDP co-chairs Mithat Sancar and Pervin Buldan. The lawyers will prepare the defenses in response to the allegations in the indictment.

Source: ANF