Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Ankara MP Sırrı Süreyya Önder held a press conference in his party’s headquarters today regarding the political genocide operations.

“TURKEY CAN’T PASS THE TEST FOR HUMANITY”

Önder pointed out that several politicians and institution administrators were detained in Ankara as well, and said: “We consider this the Ankara round of the government’s countrywide political operation against the HDP, HDP’s allies and democratic institutions to destroy the grounds for democratic politics.”

Önder also said: “The arrests against the Rojava Association in Ankara are a result of the government’s policy of ‘Not letting Kurds be themselves’. They want to wear us down. But there’s something they don’t know. This people has never been tamed by their techniques, and they never will be.”

“When we look at where we are in the Middle East, Turkey can’t produce a single argument that can be explained, let alone defended. Nothing they put forth could the test for basic humanity,” said Önder and continued:

“When we look at the parliament, they have set out a period of arbitrariness they couldn’t achieve even with the presidential system that they wanted so much, with the one man system and a totally disengaged parliament, and the tyranny process of the statutory decree constitutions that can get involved in everything, from traffic lights to family disputes has started. These types of oppression and pressure periods have a fundamental characteristic, I would like to say this to the families here, and the government should also take their due, there is a limit to tyranny. When people say “it doesn’t get any worse than this”, the gears of tyranny you set up crumble one by one. But democracy is unlimited, and it’s a solving, resolving thing. When you take this as a base, there is nothing that can’t be provided with a solution including the fundamental issues of the country, and it doesn’t take that long. There needs to be a democratic offer we can present to our country in the national level, and to the region, as a path to a solution. Nothing has last forever in these lands with tyranny and oppression. What anyone could accomplish is to shorten the period until they are eliminated from the political arena of the country.”

CALL FOR SOLIDARITY

Önder underlined that due to the weight of the process, many people showed symptoms of despair, and continued: “When this people, these workers, the peoples of Turkey, Alevis, the oppressed come together for themselves, when they increase the solidarity, there won’t be any of this tyranny left. The main motivation of these operations is to prevent this solidarity. They aim to evoke the thought that it will be answerd with destruction and arrests. Both as the HDP and as all of the democratic public in solidarity, we will not be silent in the face of this tyranny and we will not bow down. Our friends should be released immediately, and the restricting, destructive approach towards civilian politics should be abandoned at once. We will continue our democratic struggle.”

“THE SOCIAL COST WILL BE TOO MUCH”

Önder mentioned that the Turkish president Tayyip Erdoğan forced war again, just when the negotiation phase was reached with Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan, and said: “It might be that in the future, those who turned this issue into the deepest of wars right from the brink of negotiations will have to atone for their sins in the parliament of this people. The social cost of this is en route to becoming more severe than both the ‘80s and the ‘90s.”

“WE WON’T BOW DOWN EVEN IF ONLY ONE REMAINS”

Önder said one aim of the political genocide operations was so there would be nobody left to react and to organise the reaction when the HDP MPs are arrested. Önder said, “We will not bow down to tyranny, even if only one of us remains.”

“THE PEOPLE MUST DECIDE FOR THEMSELVES”

HDP’s Sırrı Süreyya Önder answered questions from journalists as well and said: “Our rejection of the presidential system is a principle, and we can offer an alternative to it. We do say something more than ‘We won’t let you be president’. One of the most fundamental problem areas of this country receives no benefit from the dictatorial regime you propose in the guise of a presidential system. The people must decide for themselves, in their local assemblies, what is necessary for them and what is harmful. This is what we propose as an alternative. Our refusal is more qualified than the other objections.”