Speaking at an election rally in the country’s northern Tokat province, Erdogan accused the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) of being the “tool” through which the PKK operates inside Turkey.
“The structure called DEM [Party] is a tool of a terrorist] group that acts like a party. The ones on the stage do not hold authority or weight in this party,” Erdogan said.
“This party is not governed from its headquarters in Ankara, but by perverted ideological institutions in Istanbul and the terrorist barons in Qandil,” referring to the PKK’s headquarters in Mount Qandil, as well as the party’s pro-LGBTQ stance within Turkey.
Erdogan’s comments come at a time when there are speculations about the possibility of the restart of a new peace process within the country.
In an unprecedented and historic move, the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced a peace process in 2013, paving the way for a new era in Turkey. However, the peace ended in 2015 due to renewed tensions between both sides.
While Erdogan is strongly opposed to a new peace with the PKK his party has expressed an openness to reviving the process, albeit being harshly criticized for simply instrumentalizing the Kurdish issue to garner more votes in the upcoming elections.
During a televised interview on Saturday night, DEM Party Tulay Hatimogullari accused AKP of only remembering the Kurdish issue during the election cycle, “AKP also only remembers the Kurdish problem from election to election,” she said.
In a letter to the public recently shared on X Jailed Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas encouraged the DEM party to hold talks with Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Veteran Kurdish politician and DEM Party MP Ahmet Turk, who is also running for the mayoralty of the city of Mardin, told Rudaw during an interview earlier this month that they have talked peace process “with some personalities” inside the Turkish parliament, without disclosing their names or the positions they hold.
Turk noted that the decision for a peace process ultimately lies in the hands of Erdogan.
“Our demand is peace. Our desire is the brotherhood of peoples…Someone like Erdogan, who today controls all the institutions, can do that, and solve the problem if he wants to,” Turk said.
During the Monday rally, Erdogan also slammed the main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) for “cooperating” with the DEM party.
“You see who is leading the alliance with the DEM [Party] just to gain a few more municipalities, don't you? Where do the instructions come from? From Qandil, and they are implemented in Ankara,” Erdogan said, referring to agreements between the CHP and the DEM Party in a few municipalities of Istanbul to field strong candidates both parties approve of.
DEM Party candidates Murat Cepni and Meral Danis Bestas are running in Istanbul, but the party refrained from fielding candidates in 39 districts, including in Esenyurt, where DEM has a strong base following talks with CHP, which agreed to nominate a candidate that the DEM Party approves of in return for its withdrawal from Esenyurt.
On Sunday, Erdogan and the AKP hope to reclaim the municipalities of Ankara and Istanbul, which they lost to CHP in 2019 after nearly two decades of dominance.
According to the Turkish electoral commission, 52 candidates will vie for the Istanbul mayoralty in March, as 22 parties fielded candidates and 30 others will compete independently. AKP fielded Murat Kurum, Turkey’s former environment minister, as Istanbul candidate mayor, to compete against the incumbent mayor CHP’s Ekrem Imamoglu, and DEM Party’s Cepni and Bestas.
