On 14-16 February, a delegation led by HDP Group Deputy Co-Chair Meral Danış Beştaş, Van Deputy Sezai Temelli, European Representative Devriş Çimen, and German Representative Co-Spokesperson Leyla İmret met in Berlin.
Meetings were held with representatives of the Left Party (Die Linke), the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Green Party, and the Progressive Alliance as part of the three-day Berlin program.
Both delegations stressed Die-Linke and HDP solidarity and cooperation during their discussion with Left Party Co-Chair Susanne Henning, International Relations Commission Spokesperson Julia Wiedeman, and Secretary-General Jörg Schindler. During the meeting, participants shared their perspectives on how to expand cooperation and unity.
Later, the HDP delegation met with Gregor Gysi, the Left Party’s Foreign Policy Spokesperson. The HDP closure case, the Kobanî Trial, and the pressures on the HDP and the opposition were all discussed at this meeting.
Another meeting was conducted with the SPD. Dietmar Nietan, Head of the SPD’s Turkey Coordination Group and Member of the German Bundestag’s Foreign Relations Committee, Nils Schmid, SPD Foreign Relations Spokesperson, Party Secretary-General Christian Petry, former Mayor of Berlin and Foreign Policy Committee Member Michael Müller, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, and SPD officials and representatives attended the meeting.
The HDP delegation congratulated the SPD on their election victory and expressed their thoughts on building Turkey-Germany cooperation on democratic values.
The HDP delegation also met with Conny Reuter, the coordinator of the Progressive Alliance, a global alliance of social-democratic and progressive political parties and organizations, of which the HDP is a member.
During the meeting with Cem Özdemir, Minister of Agriculture from the Green Party, one of Germany’s government partners, and Berivan Aymaz, an NRW state deputy, the HDP group discussed political events in Turkey as well as agricultural developments.
Finally, the HDP delegation met with Green Party Parliamentary Group Co-chair Katharina Dröge, Greens Group Turkey Policy Spokesperson Max Lucks, Greens Group Foreign Policy Spokesperson Jürgen Trittin, Foreign Policy and Defense Commission Member Tobias Bacherle, and MPs Merle Spellerberg and Pegah Edalatian.
During the discussion, participants expressed their belief that a principled approach may break the vicious circle of Turkish and European public opinion by emphasizing the vital role that German foreign policy could play in Turkey-Germany and EU-Turkey ties.
Source: HDP and Press