HDP co-chair slams opposition bloc for excluding Kurdish issue from election manifesto
HDP co-chair Sezai Temelli has slammed the opposition Nation Alliance for not including the Kurdish issue in its election manifesto unveiled on Jan. 30. “You are to write 240 pages, but then no Kurdish issue in it, no mention of the word Kurdish at all. And then you talk about democratizing this country,” Temelli said.
Kadir Cesur / DUVAR
Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Sezai Temelli has slammed the alliance of six opposition parties over the exclusion of the Kurdish issue from the bloc’s newly announced election manifesto.
“You are to write 240 pages, but then no Kurdish issue in it, no mention of the word Kurdish at all. And then you talk about democratizing this country. No, you cannot democratize it. We are the ones uttering how to democratize this country and continue to say it,” Temelli said during a speech in the eastern province of Van on Jan. 31.
“The table of six (referring to the opposition bloc) is meeting. That is also an alliance, an important one since it is giving a struggle against the rulership. Everyone who struggles and does politics against fascism is important to us. But, the indicator that things cannot happen without our existence is the text they have penned. If you do not come up with a solution to the structural problems of this country, you cannot step into democratization. The most important structural problem of this country is the Kurdish issue,” Temelli said.
Temelli slammed the opposition bloc for not getting into dialogue with the HDP. “They say that the HDP is needed, but you have to talk with the HDP about how this will happen. The remark of ‘HDP is needed’ has no correspondence if you do not talk with us, are not in contact with us, are not in a dialogue with us,” he said.
The six opposition parties that have united to change Turkey’s presidential regime to a parliamentary system announced its election manifesto “Consensus Text of Joint Policies” on Jan. 30.
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, center-right İYİ (Good) Party leader Meral Akşener, Islamist Felicity (Saadet) Party leader Temel Karamollaoğlu, Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) leader Ali Babacan, Future (Gelecek) Party leader Ahmet Davutoğlu, and Democrat Party leader Gültekin Uysal attended the announcement event that was held in capital Ankara together.
The manifesto included more than 2,300 pledges on 75 issues should they come to power in the upcoming election.
(English version by Didem Atakan)