Today at 1 pm friends of the HDP, with the support of a number of Danish organisations will hold a demonstration in Copenhagen from the European Commission Representation to Kultorvet. There will be speeches, music and other events.

The call made by the Danish organisation reads: “The AKP regime has done everything in its power over the last 19 years to centre power by eliminating anything that even remotely resembles a democratic opposition in Turkey. Many of the country's mayors, academics and rectors have been replaced by a civil service hand-picked from within the regime's own ranks; while critics and democracy advocates among journalists, academics and other professionals who express the slightest criticism of the AKP regime are jailed and prosecuted daily on lamentable charges of offending against Turkey's integrity.”

The organisers of the march reminded that “one of the latest examples of the AKP regime's anti-democratic actions is Erdogan's withdrawal of Turkey from the Istanbul Convention. The Istanbul Convention is an EU agreement aimed at combating violence against women and domestic violence. Turkey has massive problems with violence and killings committed against women (especially during Covid-19), which is why Erdogan's choice to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention has met with major international protests.

The opposition party, HDP, has been a needle in the eye and a specific target of the regime in Turkey since 2016.”

The organisers also said that “the Turkish Constitutional Court has recently started a legal process to ban the HDP and to deprive over 600 people of their right to engage in political activity going forward. Currently, thousands of HDP lay members are in prison, including city councilors, elected mayors and board members. Party MPs have also been imprisoned after being de facto stripped of their parliamentary immunity. Among those imprisoned is the party's former co-chairman, Selahattin Demirtas, who enjoys widespread support and popularity among both Kurdish and Turkish voters in Turkey. Selahattin Demirtas' next court hearing is scheduled for 26 April 2021 in Ankara. Before the hearing on 26 April, we in HDP Friends Denmark wish to express our support for the democratic forces in Turkey. The democratic forces in Turkey are under massive pressure and in an iron grip under Erdogan's authoritarian regime, where any critical voice is eliminated.”

The organisers list the following demands they will launch at the march today:

* Yes to free elections - stop the closure of HDP

* Yes to freedom of expression - stop attacks on journalists

* Yes to free research - defend Bosporus University

* Yes to the Istanbul Convention - no to violence against women

* Yes to freedom - release political prisoners

The promoters are: Friends of the HDP

- Kurdistan Solidarity Group

- Feykurd- Association of Kurdish Associations in Denmark

- Bjarke Friborg, DM

- Søren Søndergaard, Unity List

- Lars Aslan Rasmussen, Social Democrats

- Feramuz Acar, friends of HDP´

-3F Copenhagen

- 3F BJMF                

-Unity List Kurdistan Solidarity Group

- Kurdish Forum - a cross-party solidarity initiative

- Randers Alevi Kultur Center

- Danish Kurdish Women's Association

- Horserød-Stutthof association

- Anti-Fascist Forum