The following statement was released on November 11 by Farooq Tariq, spokesperson for the Awami Workers Party in Pakistan.
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On the night of November 3, the Turkish police detained Selahattin Demirta艧 and Figen Y眉ksekda臒 鈥 the co-chairs of the People鈥檚 Democratic Party (HDP) 鈥 alongside several other Members of Parliament who were democratically voted in with over 5 million votes in the last parliamentary election.
The political situation in Turkey continues to deteriorate in the wake of the attempted coup d鈥櫭﹖at in July, allegedly organised by the G眉len Movement, a former ally of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). It has in fact led to a slow incremental counter-coup where President Recep Tayyip Erdo臒an and his cronies have progressively jailed, marginalised and silenced opponents of all hues 鈥 but especially the Kurdish movement.
The regime of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo臒an took a further leap towards undisguised dictatorship, intensifying its crackdown against the democratic and left-wing opposition, independent media and the Kurdish population.
On October 25, Co-Mayors of the Diyarbak谋r (Amed) Metropolitan Municipality, G眉ltan K谋艧anak and F谋rat Anl谋, members of the Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP), were arrested.
BREAKING NEWS November 5 鈥 The regime of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo臒an took a further leap towards undisguised dictatorship with the issue of arrest warrants for all 59 Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) MPs by the Diyarbakir Chief Prosecutor's Office, reported.
Thirteen HDP deputies including party leaders Selahattin Demirta艧 and Figen Y眉ksekda臒 have already been detained.
A large minority in Turkey, at about 20% of the population, the Kurdish people have long faced systemic discrimination by the Turkish state. This has included massacres and violent repression of their culture, with even the Kurdish language banned until recently.
Such oppression led to the Kurdistan Workers鈥 Party (PKK) launching an armed struggle for national liberation in 1984. In recent years, the PKK 鈥 whose leader Abdullah 脰calan remains in solitary confinement in a Turkish jail 鈥 has declared its commitment to a peaceful solution to the conflict.
Fascist mobs, with support from the police, attacked neighbourhoods populated by Kurds, the Alevi religious minority, other minorities and leftists. Istanbul, July 16. Photo: Sendika10.org.
Faced with an attempt to overthrow his government, President Recep Tayyip Erdo臒an described the coup as 鈥渁 gift from God鈥 鈥 and wasted no time in exploiting it to further entrench his authoritarian regime.
[The following opinion piece was written by Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) Executive Committee member and founder Duran Kalkan on July 17. It can be read as the official stance of the PKK regarding the failed coup attempt in Turkey.]
"The AKP's fascism drove the army into Kurdish cities and towns, made them burn cities to the ground and massacre hundreds of civilians." Cizre, Bakur.
The umbrella organisation of the Kurdish movement, the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) Executive Council Co-Presidency, released the following statement on July 16
Destruction wrought by Turkish state in Diyarbak谋r.
Three-hundred-and-fifty thousand. That is the number of people displaced since the Kurdish-Turkish 鈥渞esolution process鈥 was interrupted by the Turkish government of President Recep Tayyip Erdo臒an last year.
About 80 people rallied outside the Turkish consulate in Melbourne on May 25 to condemn the massacre of Kurds and support the People's Democratic Party (HDP) MPs now facing prosecution by the Recep Tayyip Erdogan government.
