HDP vows to ‘not give up’ in Newroz message

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Senior leaders and officials of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) in Turkey delivered Newroz speeches during New Year celebrations in Diyarbakir (Amed) on Sunday, saying the HDP “will not give up” amid attempts to ban the party. 

“The path to peace in the Middle East is through the freedom of the Kurds. The freedom of the Kurds is through national unity. The freedom of the Kurds is through Imrali [prison holding Kurdistan Workers’ Party  (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan]. Therefore, the Kurdish people must strengthen their unity... Let this Newroz be the Newroz of national unity,” HDP co-chair Medhat Sancar said in a speech he gave during celebrations in Diyarbakir on Sunday.

On attempts to close the HDP, Sancar said “we will not give up … The demand for the closure of the HDP is a demand for the closure of democracy, hope and equality. That is why we will continue our fight.”

Millions of Kurds took part in massive celebrations not only in the Kurdish cities like Diyarbakir and Van, but also in Istanbul, at a time when the country’s top court is considering shutting down the country's main pro-Kurdish opposition party.

Turkish police arrested outspoken HDP lawmaker Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu early Sunday morning in a night raid, according to the party, after the lawmaker was stripped of his MP status on Wednesday over a 2016 tweet. Turkey’s top prosecutor also filed an indictment on Wednesday, calling for the party to be disbanded. 

Newroz celebrations hold a particular importance for Kurds in Turkey, who for decades were not allowed to celebrate the occasion that signals the beginning of spring, and are facing increasing pressure from the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in recent years.

HDP MP Imam Tascer told Rudaw’s Hevidar Zana on Sunday that Newroz is “an uprising against oppression,” adding that the government targeting of the HDP is due to the 2023 elections. 

“The fall of the government is near...there are elections in 2023, it’s clear that the government’s eyes are on the votes of the HDP and the Kurds, whichever side the HDP is on in the presidential election, that side will win.”

Top Turkish officials have accused the HDP of being the political wing of the PKK, leading to the arrests of scores of their politicians - including former co-chairs and parliamentarians and members - in recent years on terror charges, but the party denies any links to the PKK.

The PKK, an armed group fighting for the increased rights of Turkey’s Kurdish minority, is regarded as a terrorist organisation by Ankara. 

Former HDP co-chair and Van MP, Sezai Temelli, attended the Newroz celebrations in Van and said during a speech he delivered that the government has put increasing pressure on the HDP, but they have resisted.

 “They thought they would end us, but we existed and continue to exist.”

The party’s jailed former co-chair has said the party will continue its struggle for democracy, even if shut down.

“Regardless of the result, we will never deviate from the path of democracy and peace. We will continue our struggle through the law and we will definitely win,” said Selahattin Demirtas in a tweet posted by his lawyers on Friday.