It is with dismay that we observe recent developments in Turkey involving systematic repression against elected Politicians, and politically motivated cases against the HDP.
The Turkish Attorney General has ordered the detention of 108 individuals, among them leading representatives of the HDP. In October 2014, the HDP called on people to support legitimate popular protests for Kobani. Now, years later, they are being held responsible for the violent clashes that erupted during the protests, and, based on this, they are being accused of terrorism. At that time, people everywhere were demonstrating against the ISIS attack on the city of Kobani and against the ongoing support for ISIS being shown by the Turkish regime. For years, the HDP has been calling for a parliamentary inquiry to shed light on what led to the violence, but President Erdogan’s ruling AKP has always rejected this proposal.
We stand firmly against this violation of the rule of law. It is unacceptable in a democracy to hold elected officials responsible for what happened at an even whose investigation is being actively hindered.
We urge the public, political parties, and parliamentarians to look further into this matter.
We stand in solidarity with the HDP as it faces this systematic repression. Furthermore, we say that resistance in support of Kobani cannot be criminalised. Millions of people around the world have opposed ISIS on moral grounds, and we oppose Erdogan’s policy of criminalising Kobani’s resistance. As stated by the HDP’s former Co-Chair, Selahattin Demirtas, “What really devastates Erdogan is not our people who have been brutally murdered, but ISIS’s defeat in Kobani.”
The trial is due to begin on 26 April 2021 and will be monitored by various political bodies. However, because of the COVID-19 measures, many people would have liked to show political solidarity will not be able to visit Turkey.
Therefore, we want to point out an alternative possibility to all those who are not able to travel.
On 26 April 2021 (the same day that the process begins), we invite all organisations, political parties, MPs, politicians and individuals to give a signal of support with an action of solidarity. Every Member of Parliament could demonstrate solidarity through various forms of action. A photo action will be held in front of the European Parliament at 15:00 that day.
We urge anyone expressing their solidarity to share their action with the press, or by means of social networks, making a statement with the following hashtags: #SolidarityWithHDP and #DefendKobani
In solidarity.
The Bureau of the Kurdish Friendship Group: François Alfonsi (Greens/EFA), Andreas Schieder (S&D), Nikolaj Villumsen (GUE/NGL)
The European Political Parties: Heinz Bierbaum, President of the Party of the European Left, Evelyne Huytebroeck and Thomas Waitz, co-chairs of the European Green Party, Lorena Lopez de Lacalle, president of the European Free Alliance, Sergei Stanishev, leader of the PES – Party of European Socialists.
