Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu has unleashed a wave of agitation against the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in the state media. In a television broadcast, the far-right politician presented pictures showing HDP deputies together with leading representatives of the guerrillas. However, these pictures are not a "new discovery". Instead, they are shots taken during the peace talks, when HDP deputies were negotiating between the guerrilla leadership and Turkish regime representatives for a peaceful solution to the conflict. The misleading use of this images is commented as attempt to inflame sentiment for an HDP ban.

"Participation in the dialogue process cannot be criminalized"

HDP parliamentary group leader Meral Danış Beştaş assessed for ANF the interior minister's campaign as "mood-making" by using images from the dialogue process in an attempt to "create a different impression." Beştaş recalled that there is a law that those involved in the dialogue process do not have to fear prosecution and the pictures Soylu showed have long been available to the public.

"It was one of the best times in Turkey's history"

Beştaş described the period of the peace process, which was unilaterally ended by the regime in 2015, as something not to be condemned, but on the contrary, the "best period of Turkey". She said, "It was a time of great hope and anticipation throughout society. It was the embodiment of the longing for a democratic and non-violent Turkey. In this sense, we have always stood behind the peace process and continue to do so. We say that the Kurdish question and the democratization of Turkey cannot be considered separately. We emphasize once again that the Kurdish people are paying a high price for their struggle to become equal and free citizens, and that this problem can only be resolved through dialogue and not through war. The image that is being created here is simply hollow, it has no real background."

"There will be no Turkey without the HDP"

Regarding the regime's increasingly vocal ban on the HDP, Beştaş said, "There will be no Turkey without the HDP. Even if they ban the HDP, it will continue on its path. Millions of people who support the HDP will not suddenly disappear, fly away or switch to other parties. Everyone should look at this reality carefully."

"A regime that tries to manipulate the electoral laws has already lost"

The parliamentary group leader pointed out that the HDP is a lawful, legitimate and democratic party and is being targeted because it does not sing along with the "memorized canon" of the other parties. This, he said, shows the state of Turkish politics. Commenting on the attempts to again strip nine HDP deputies of their immunity, Beştaş said, "So far, there have been 200 requests to lift immunity. The constitution has also been changed and the majority of our friends are still in prison. Nevertheless, the HDP has grown and continued on its path. The discussions about lifting immunity are therefore nothing more than an attempt to influence public opinion. The aim is to enable the regime's rule to continue. This is because the HDP is now in a position to change all balances. The debate about amending the constitution to close down our party and ban it for five years is only a sham debate. Because the AKP/MHP government no longer has the power, no longer has the number of votes to push something like this through. All this represents a transparent attempt to shape the opposition to suit its own interests before a possible election. The history of the world and Turkey has shown that when a regime tries to manipulate the electoral laws, it has already lost."