HDP Co-chair Pervin Buldan spoke about current developments in her party’s group meeting in the Parliament.

Buldan spoke about the isolation, the hunger strikes and death fasts.

VICTORY AGAINST ISOLATION

Highlights from Buldan’s speech are as follows:

“Today we are happy that we hold our group meeting in an atmosphere where life prevailed and our hopes and expectations of the future increased a little bit more. Yes, the hunger strike and death fasts kicked off by our MP Leyla on November 8 and by thousands of prisoners on November 27, which spread from Hewler to Strasbourg, were ended on May 26 on Mr. Ocalan’s call.

This struggle by those who put their bodies on the line against injustice will provide gains for democracy, peace and all the peoples of Turkey. In the end, life prevailed! Now everybody must know that there is no standing against the demands of the people. And the peoples know this very well: To live is to resist, to resist is to live!

REMEMBERING THE SACRIFICING PROTESTERS

“We worked intensely to avoid any loss of life during this process, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough. We weren’t able to keep Zulkuf Gezen, Ayten Becet, Zehra Saglam, Medya Cinar, Yonca Akici, Sirac Yuksek, Mahsum Pamay and Ugur Sakar alive. Our sorrow and our pain is immense. We wish them the mercy of God, and offer our condolences to their esteemed families and our people. We remember them with respect. We promise that their demand for a dignified peace will blossom on these lands.

“WHITE SCARVES ARE EACH A SHIELD”

Our esteemed mothers, you became comrades to the life of your blood, to those who resist for humanity, you became a scream, you became a cry. You became a heartfelt call for peace, justice, light and life. You waved the flag of peace, justice and life with your white scarves. Those white scarves are each a shield against all attacks and crimes against humanity. You were subjected to all kinds of force and insults, but you never refrained from relaying your strong message. I bow in front of each one of you for this attitude, I kiss your hands. Your invaluable and determined struggle will now and always bring meaning to humanity’s struggle, give it strength and give it light.

We also thank the democratic public who showed solidarity to end the isolation, to NGOs, to human rights defenders, women, intellectuals, writers and journalists, and all our friends abroad who sent messages of solidarity. We send you our love and respect.

“ISOLATION WOULD BRING COUPS AND WARS”

Hunger strikes have shown that you can’t run a country with isolation. With the isolation, the country was dragged through deep crises from a coup to wars. It is of course important and positive that there can be meetings with Mr. Ocalan again after 4 years. It is extremely important that the lawyer and family visits, as a constitutional right, continue unabated. Remember: We all saw where the country went after April 5, 2015 when the isolation started. With the end of the solution process and the implementation of the isolation policy, the country was dragged into chaos and crises in all areas, to a coup atmosphere, to a State of Emergency, to a regional war, to a deep economic crisis and a deep social crisis.

But, during the solution process Turkey was at a different point. There was hope for the future and trust had increased. Bloodshed and tears had stopped. Mothers were not crying anymore, our young children were not falling to the ground. I want to stress once again that these four years have shown clearly that without a democratic solution and peace, the country can’t solve its problems, on the contrary, it will sink to the bottom. Ending the Imrali isolation completely and restarting a dialogue as soon as possible will create an opportunity to resolve the Turkey-centric regional issues through democratic negotiations and with a peaceful perspective, as well as issues that have turned into gangrenes in the country.

“RESOLVE THE KURDISH ISSUE OR DISSOLVE THE STATE

In this sense, taking necessary steps remains a duty and a responsibility for the institution of politics as a whole, the parliament and the democratic public, as well as the government and the state. It must be seen that the country cannot govern the country with an oppressive understanding based on one single man, ignoring the democratic society’s will, with security policies and illegalities, that democratic demands cannot be suppressed. The solution to all these issues is possible only through democratic politics, dialogue, democratic negotiations and social compromise. We have always experienced this. Sooner or later Turkey will evolve into a line of democratic solution and peace. We all know that there is no other way out, and we know that the government knows this too. Either the Kurdish issue, the issue of democracy and the issue of justice will be resolved, or the state will be dissolved. There is no other way out. What will bring the state and the government closer to the solution line is the size of the democratic social movements. It is the peoples’ insistence on peace.

It is very important that all who favor democracy, peace, justice and labor, everybody involved with democratic politics fight together against the monist mindset that wants to keep this country in the darkness of fascism, and stand against the isolation as well as push for a democratic solution.

The end of democratic struggle will be democratic negotiations. Have no doubt. Until peace and a democratic and free life develop on these lands, until the republic is democratized, we will never let the flag of the struggle fall. As long as the HDP exists, hopes for democracy and peace will continue to grow and the future will be bright.”