9:41pm
Demirtaş: These days of tyranny will end sooner or later
Selahattin Demirtaş, via his lawyer, released a statement vowing to stand strong.
“We want you know that we will abide by the struggle for democracy, freedom, and peace, waged with devotion by our people.”
“These days of tyranny will end sooner or later in the face of our resistance. Those who think they can break our will with cheap conspiracies only confirm their own pitiful nature. No matter what the circumstances are, we will continue our democratic and political struggle. We will repeat our calls for peace.”
Selahattin Demirtaş declared "We will prevail!" outside the courthouse today. Photo: HDP
Komal: Detentions of HDP lawmakers weaken the peace process
In the latest series of condemnations against the detention of HDP lawmakers, the Kurdish Islamic Group (Komal), a member of the coalition government of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), expressed its concerns and said the arrests will weaken any hope for a peaceful solution in Turkey.
"This will weaken the hope for the resumption of the peace process,” it said in a written statement Friday evening while calling on the Turkish government to release the Kurdish lawmakers.
The Islamic Group also called on the HDP to “to avoid some sort of reactions that may further complicate the situation.”
For more than two years, the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) were in talks to bring an end to decades of conflict. The negotiations collapsed with the resumption of the conflict in the summer of 2015.
The KRG has maintained strong economic and political ties with the Turkish government, despite the ongoing conflict across its northern border in Turkey’s Kurdish regions.
The office of President Barzani, who has good relations with Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), expressed concerned that this will further deepen problems and called on the Turkish government to bring to an end the detention and arrest of the HDP members “because it does not serve the stability, the political coexistence and the social stability of Turkey.”
Monitoring group Human Rights Watch has also condemned the arrests. “Such detentions are an assault on the right to political representation and participation for millions of voters and defy core principles of democracy, human rights and rule of law,” said Ben Ward, deputy Europe division director.
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8:19pm
PKK: The war with Turkey will deepen
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) warned Friday that the detention of the HDP lawmakers will deepen its conflict with the Turkish government.
“Our nation, every peaceful and democratic force should not stand silent. Today in Kurdistan there is oppression, fascism, the policy of annihilation, and subjugation. This means the war will deepen. This fascism of the AKP [the ruling Justice and Development Party] in Kurdistan and Turkey will deepen the war. Our movement and our nation will not stand silent in the face of this assault of fascism, and occupation,” Murat Karayılan, the PKK’s military leader and co-founder, said in a televised statement.
“This is where the words end,” the Kurdistan Communities Union (KNK), the umbrella organization for PKK-affiliated parties, said a written statement on Friday.
The KNK accused the AKP party of timing the detentions with its 14th anniversary of coming to power in 2002 when it won two-thirds of the Turkish parliament in 2002.
It said the AKP took this decision with the Turkish Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
“This is where words end. All the Kurdish people and the forces of democracy should rise up everywhere and resist. The youth, the women and all of the Kurdish people should show the AKP government once more that Kurds cannot be broken," the KNK statement read.
Amnesty International condemns ‘trumped-up terrorism charges’
Amnesty International’s Europe Director, John Dalhuisen, said the arrests, following closure of Kurdish media outlets and arrests of the co-mayors of Diyarbakir, “is an ominous indicator of the road ahead under the state of emergency.”
“The familiar pattern of arbitrary detentions under trumped-up terrorism charges followed by political show trials must not be allowed to unfold. In the absence of any credible evidence of crimes, they should be immediately released.”
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6:05pm
HDP: Today saw the end of democracy in Turkey
HDP described the arrests of 12 of its members, including its two co-chairs, as “a dark day not only for our party but for all of Turkey and the region as it means the end of democracy in Turkey.”
Hisyar Ozsoy, vice co-chair of HDP responsible for foreign affairs, accused Turkish President Erdogan of singling out his party as “the main target of his authoritarian policies. The reason is our principled opposition against his goal to introduce a presidential system in Turkey.”
He described HDP as the biggest obstacle to the constitutional changes Erdogan wants to introduce and vowed that his party would not surrender in their struggle for justice and freedom.
“History has shown over and over again that any power based on brute force is outlived by the struggle for justice and freedom. We will not surrender to these dictatorial policies and call up on our friends around the world to stand in solidarity in our struggle to prevent Erdogan to steer the country into a civil war and further despotism.”
Ozsoy made the comments in a statement published Friday on HDP’s website.
Figen Yüksekdag, speaking before the prosecutor in a court in Diyarbakir, said “I demand nothing and expect nothing from you. Only the people who elected me can interrogate me about my political activities,” according to JINHA News. She said she “refused to be a bit player” in the theatre created by Erdogan.
Condemnation of the arrests has come from all corners of Kurdish lands.
Co-president of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party, Salih Moslem, tweeted “The arrest of HDP leaders is part of the genocide against the Kurds. The Kurdish nation should stand up for itself.”
A member of the leadership of TEV-DEM, the Democratic Social Movement coalition governing the autonomous Rojava region of northern Syria, Aldar Xelîl, tweeted that arresting parliamentarians and targeting civic society is the approach of a tyrant.
Loghman H. Ahmedi, head of foreign relations for the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) described the persecution as "horrifying" and extended his party's solidarity to Kurds in Turkey.
#Turkey's persecution of the #HDP is horrifying. HDP & the Kurdish people in #Bakur has our full solidarity. #Twitterkurds #Kurdistan #PDKI
— Loghman H. Ahmedi (@loghmanahmedi) November 4, 2016
Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani issued a statement earlier today calling on the Turkish government to release the “political detainees.”
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) also called on Turkey to release the detainees. “We very strongly condemn this conduct, and reiterate that constraining freedoms and violating democratic principles endangers peoples’ rights and further complicates the problems of Turkey. Having peaceful dialogue is the only way to settle these problems,” reads a statement from Kosrat Rasul Ali, deputy secretary of the PUK.
Gorran, also called the Change Movement, urged the Kurdish government to “review our relations with Turkey,” in light of the events.
European and American representatives have also expressed serious concern about the arrests and what they indicate for the state of law in Turkey.
President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, issued a statement condemning the arrests.
“Today’s detentions send a chilling signal about the state of political pluralism in Turkey,” he said, stressing that Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdag are “legitimate and democratic representatives of Turkish society.”
He recalled his many meetings with Demirtaş, who he praised as a leader committed to non-violence and the rule of law.
Schulz said that, Friday’s detentions as the latest in a string of detentions and crackdowns, pushes Turkey farther away from democracy and the values of the European Union. He urged the European Parliament to address these events “as a matter of urgency” as Ankara’s actions cast a shadow on “the basis for the sustainable relationship between EU and Turkey.”
Both Berlin and Copenhagen have summoned the Turkish representatives to their countries to discuss the issue. A spokesperson of the German foreign ministry told reporters, saying that Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier considers the arrests as a “drastic intensification of the situation” in Turkey.
In Ankara, EU envoys held a meeting to discuss the arrests.
The US Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Tom Malinowski, said he was “deeply troubled” by the arrests and the blocking of internet access in the country.
When taking legal action against elected reps, democracies have higher duty to justify actions & preserve confidence in justice. #Turkey
— Tom Malinowski (@Malinowski) November 4, 2016
Meanwhile, on the streets of the capital and Istanbul, protesters gathered to condemn the arrests. Police used tear gas to disperse the crowds and, according to reports on social media, live ammunition.
HDP co-chairs Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yüksekdag, and MPs Nihat Akdogan, Nursel Aydogan, Idris Baluken, Leyla Birlik, Ferhat Encü, Selma Irmak, Sirri Süreyya Önder, Ziya Pir, Imam Tascier, Gülser Yildirim, and Abdullah Zeydan have been detained, according to HDP’s statement.
Following their detentions Thursday night, Gülser Yildirim, Leyla Birlik, Nursel Aydogan, and Idris Baluken have all been arrested.
Co-chair of the Democratic Union Party (DBP), Sebahat Tuncel, has also been detained on Friday in front of a courthouse in Diyarbakir, Hurriyet Daily News reported. She was among a group protesting the HDP arrests.
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3:54pm
CHP leader Kılıçdaroğlu: detention of HDP lawmakers sends Turkey "in a dangerous direction"
The chair of the main opposition party in Turkey, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, said the detention of the 12 HDP members is a move which is sending Turkey “in a dangerous direction.”
According to Hurriyet news Kılıçdaroğlu alleged that this move was being made by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to pave the way for the introduction of a presidential system, which would give Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sweeping powers.
Kılıçdaroğlu insisted that those who “came with elections should go with elections.”
Sezgin Tanrıkulu, a CHP lawmaker, was more scathing in his response, saying that this move is “not only a coup, but also a mission to divide the country. The Grand Parliament has been bombed once again.”
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3:50pm
"Get your hands off me!"
Idris Baluken, an HDP lawmaker who was detained by the Turkish police on Friday, reacted angrily to a police officer who tried to force him into the police vehicle
“Get your hands off me! I represent thousands of votes. You can’t shove my head and take me like that,” said Baluken according to Hurriyet news, before entering the police car and being detained.
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3:30pm
President Barzani's office expresses concerns over HDP detentions, calls on Turkey to release “political detainees”
The Kurdistan Region Presidency expressed its concerns over the detenstion of the co-presidents of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Turkey and called on the Turkish government to release the "political detainees" of the party, read a statement they released on Friday afternoon.
Full statement from Kurdistan Region Presidency
We are concerned about the Turkish government’s decision to arrest the two co-leaders of the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) and a number of the lawmakers of the party.
It is feared that an action like this may further complicate the situation and deepen problems.
We hope that this problem will be resolved sooner than later, and the arrests and detention of members of the HDP brought to an end, because it does not serve the stability, the political coexistence and the social stability of Turkey.
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2:58pm
Second party in Kurdistan calls on KRG to "review its relations" with Turkey
The Gorran Movement, the second bloc in the Kurdish parliament with 25 seats, has called on the Kurdistan Regional Government to review its relations with the Turkish government.
“Let’s review our relations with Turkey, and let’s not be silent and quiet regarding these actions of the Turkish government.” read a statement from the Gorran on Friday.
Gorran, also called Change Movement, said it condemns the arrest of Kurdish MPs early on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the third bloc in the Kurdish parliament with 18 seats, also strongly condemned the arrests and stated the Turkish government should have been appreciative of the attitude of the pro-Kurdish HDP party following the failed coup last July instead of cracking down on the representative of the Kurdish people in Turkish Kurdistan.
The Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) also expressed its concerns, and said this new development will close the door in the face of a political solution in Turkey.
Earlier in the day, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which has 38 seats in the Kurdish parliament and holds the position of the Kurdish presidency and of the Prime Minister, condemned the arrests.
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HDP leader Selahattin Demirtas said that his arrest and appearance in court was political and he refused to answer any of the charges directed at him, saying he represented the people and only people could try him.
“I don’t want to answer any question about the charges made against me,” Demirtas said he told the judge. “We’re elected representatives of people.”
“We’re not representing ourselves but the people who elected us and I still have parliamentary immunity and I’m standing before you as a member of parliament,” the HDP leader told the court. “It is not fair for me to allow any disrespect to the will of the people who elected us.”
Demirtas said that he did not fear being tried in a just court.
The arrest of the HDP leaders and MPs sparked condemnations in and outside the country, especially among Kurdish parties.
“Arresting the HDP leaders and their MPs is worrying and such actions do not deserve democracy nor is war and intolerance serving coexistence,” said the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) faction in the Kurdish parliament in a statement.
“In today’s Middle East situation it is expected of Turkey and its leaders to make peace and democracy the symbol of their work,” said the KDP parliamentary faction.
Earlier in the day, Qubad Talabani, deputy Kurdish prime minister said in a tweet: “I strongly condemn the arrest of @hdpdemirtas & @HDPgenelmerkezi officials. Peace and dialogue are the only to resolve differences,”
I strongly condemn the arrest of @hdpdemirtas & @HDPgenelmerkezi officials. Peace and dialogue are the only way to resolve differences
— Qubad Talabani (@qubadjt) November 4, 2016
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The co-leaders of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and other party lawmakers were detained early on Friday as part of what the Turkish government described as a counter-terrorism investigation.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news reported that Selahattin Demirtas was detained in his Diyarbakir home while Figen Yuksekdag was also detained in her home in Ankara for failing to respond to summons for testimony in a Diyarbakir Chief Public Prosecutor Office probe.
The two had previously said in June that they would not cooperate with such a probe and would refuse to testify. Parliamentary immunity was lifted in Turkey earlier this year after a constitutional amendment was approved by parliament, allowing the Turkish state to investigate MPs for criminal or terrorist connections and prosecute accordingly.
The incumbent Turkish government has long charged the HDP with being connected with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a charge they vehemently deny.
Nine other HDP MPs were also taken into custody.
This comes less than a month after the co-mayors of Diyarbakir were also detained as part of a terrorism investigation.
Turkey has been fighting the PKK in a war which resumed in July 2015 after the collapse of a ceasefire brokered in early 2013.
