ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – An MP from a pro-Kurdish party in Turkey complained Thursday that anyone who espouses Kurdish rights is labeled a terrorist by the Turkish government.
“I was Diyarbakir’s Metropolitan Mayor for 10 years. I was elected by 55 percent of the electorate in my first term and 65 percent in my second term. Yet, I have always been introduced by Turkey as a terrorist,” said Osman Baydemir, a prominent MP with the pro-Kurdish HDP.
“The Turkish government regards anyone who espouses the rights of the Kurds and Kurdistan, protecting the current and future interests of Kurds, as a terrorist,” Baydemir said in comments to Rudaw on the sidelines of a conference in Erbil by the Middle East Research Institute (MERI).
The Kurdish MP also denied Turkey’s allegations that HDP mayors or officials had sent money to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is outlawed in Turkey and has its military headquarters in the Qandil Mountains of northern Iraq.
“It is an outright lie that our co-mayors have sent money to Qandil. They want to change peoples’ opinion of us through lies. But they cannot continue doing this to us. We saw the destiny of Saddam Hussein and that of Moamer Gaddafi,” he said referring to the ousted leaders of Iraq and Libya. “They will have the same destiny as Saddam Hussein if they continue on their current policy,” he warned.
Tensions between the Turkish government and Turkey’s large Kurdish population escalated after police arrested two pro-Kurdish mayors on Tuesday over alleged connections to the PKK and an affiliated group, which led to large protests by HDP members and civil society organizations in Istanbul and Ankara the following day.
“I was Diyarbakir’s Metropolitan Mayor for 10 years. I was elected by 55 percent of the electorate in my first term and 65 percent in my second term. Yet, I have always been introduced by Turkey as a terrorist,” said Osman Baydemir, a prominent MP with the pro-Kurdish HDP.
“The Turkish government regards anyone who espouses the rights of the Kurds and Kurdistan, protecting the current and future interests of Kurds, as a terrorist,” Baydemir said in comments to Rudaw on the sidelines of a conference in Erbil by the Middle East Research Institute (MERI).
The Kurdish MP also denied Turkey’s allegations that HDP mayors or officials had sent money to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is outlawed in Turkey and has its military headquarters in the Qandil Mountains of northern Iraq.
“It is an outright lie that our co-mayors have sent money to Qandil. They want to change peoples’ opinion of us through lies. But they cannot continue doing this to us. We saw the destiny of Saddam Hussein and that of Moamer Gaddafi,” he said referring to the ousted leaders of Iraq and Libya. “They will have the same destiny as Saddam Hussein if they continue on their current policy,” he warned.
Tensions between the Turkish government and Turkey’s large Kurdish population escalated after police arrested two pro-Kurdish mayors on Tuesday over alleged connections to the PKK and an affiliated group, which led to large protests by HDP members and civil society organizations in Istanbul and Ankara the following day.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment