HDP should aim for gov't: Selahattin Demirtaş

Duvar English

The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) should aim for the government, the party's former co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş has said, adding that he approves the HDP's call for early elections.

"HDP's call for early elections is legitimate and appropriate. It's necessary to organize and expand the struggle that will provide the basis for it and present a democratic government alternative to the public with persuasive, strong and convincing arguments," Demirtaş told Duvar English columnist Mehveş Evin, who published the interview in Artı Gerçek on Dec. 5.

"The HDP's goal should not be to struggle against the appointment of trustees, but to solve all the problems via coming to power," Demirtaş said, referring to the appointment of trustees by the government to replace HDP's elected mayors.

The HDP called for early elections last month, citing the "governing crisis" of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Demirtaş was arrested on Nov. 4, 2016 on charges related to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and faces hundreds of years in jail.

In the interview, Demirtaş said that the HDP needs to be ready to cooperate and form alliances with all parts of the society within the scope of democratic principles.

"The HDP needs to show that it's a candidate to rule the country. It should position its entire discourse, actions, staff and alliances in line with that. It's important to struggle against fascism, but to fill the political gap that will surface following fascism in a democratic way is more important," he said in his written responses to Evin.

"The HDP was right to not leave the political arena. What needs to be done now is to proceed towards power and destroy fascism via major political moves. The HDP needs to abandon the demanding discourse that says, 'Solve my problems,' but should enhance the struggle via putting a new aim in front of the people with the self confidence of 'I will solve the problems,'" he said.

Criticizing the opposition parties for their "cowardice and inability" in the face of fascism, Demirtaş noted that the antidote to fear is courage put into practice, while saying that the AKP is "politically dead.

His lawyer and sister Aygül Demirtaş said on Dec. 2 that he lost consciousness due to chest tightness and inability to breathe last week, but wasn't taken to a hospital.

The former co-chair was then taken to a hospital following outrage and his condition is said to be stable.

Demirtaş's condition may get worse: Lawyer

Speaking about Demirtaş's health condition, his lawyer Mahsuni Karaman has said that the former co-chair has heart problems and his condition may get worse, adding that doctors warned against a heart attack.

"Doctors are saying that the problem may reoccur. It can bear fatal risks if it reoccurs in prison conditions," Karaman told T24 on Dec. 5, adding that while Demirtaş doesn't seek his release over these health problems, his lawyers are urging his freedom.

"He shouldn't have been arrested and should have been released because of his innocence. The fact that he remains imprisoned with these health problems can be accepted as an intentional intervention against his right to life. The legal and political consequences can be dire," Karaman said.

HDP co-chair urges CPT to act

The HDP's current co-chair Sezai Temelli, meanwhile, urged the Committee for the Prevention of Torture to examine the condition of prisons in Turkey, as he commented on Demirtaş not taken to a hospital after he lost his consciousness.

"If this is how Demirtaş is treated, think about how the other convicts and prisoners are being treated. There's no sensitivity towards the right to life in prisons," Temelli said.