A motion in support of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) has been adopted in the Austrian National Council. The original motion by the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) deputies Katharina Kucharowits and Petra Bayr to ban the HDP in Turkey was reintroduced to the committee in an amended form by Dr. Reinhold Lopatka (Austrian People’s Party – ÖVP) and Ewa Ernst-Dziedzic (Greens) and passed unanimously.
“The National Council shall resolve:
The Federal Minister for European and International Affairs is accordingly called upon to continue to take a clear position on the retrograde steps in the area of political rights and fundamental democratic freedoms in Turkey and to advocate for their observance, in particular in connection with the action against the HDP, and to stand up for the protection of pluralistic and democratic structures in Turkey both bilaterally and at the European level, as has been the case to date.
This ban procedure against the HDP appears politically motivated and seriously undermines the legitimacy of Turkish democratic institutions and political pluralism in the country. Last but not least, the European Commission also notes serious regressions in key areas such as democracy, human and fundamental rights, and the judicial system in its latest country report on Turkey of October 2021.”
Please find the original version (in German) of motion in this link.