When we can call the HDP "left-wing" then all will be OK...
The HDP's brand new left-wing manifesto for the Nov. 1 elections seems to make its voter base, who provided the party 80 seats in Parliament with 13 percent of the votes, feel offended
The Kurdish nationalist Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) has announced its election manifesto, which is highly impressive when you consider it with a critical eye and evaluate it in general terms.
We are now calling the HDP "Kurdish nationalist" and they may object to people saying they are populist and left-wing. However what they say does not match their actions and as long as this is the case we are being kind calling them "Kurdish nationalist" and not "pro-separatist" or "pro-PKK terrorist."
The HDP won 13 percent of the national votes and this nation has given them 80 seats, which is a great gift from the voters of this country. They should have cherished these votes and these seats and should have acted accordingly. Yet they did not do this. On the contrary, soon after the elections their officials were saying they rely on the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in northern Syria and the armed youth wing of the PKK in Turkey. In fact what all this means is that we have our backs to the PKK and don't care at all for all the votes given to us.
Now the same HDP is once again facing the voters of this country with a manifesto that is rather appealing in some ways.
The HDP says it is the only party that relies on the people of this country to clean up the mess created by dirty politics, intrigue and bloodbaths. It says the HDP is the voice of the oppressed masses. The HDP says it set out to create a brand new life "on the lands that we all share as our home." The HDP says it set up the party in a flower garden containing all varieties of plants just like Turkey.
The HDP says the policies of rejection and denial of the Kurdish reality resulted in massive suffering for the Kurds of Turkey. The party is absolutely correct if he is talking about the period between 1984 and 2005. However, after that with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan taking over the rule of the country in earnest and after 2007 when he finished the military's political dominance and started concentrating on the Kurdish file, he has done everything to make the Kurds of Turkey feel like first class citizens of this country. Yes, we may have some more ground to cover but what he has done should be applauded and encouraged. Thanks to the positive environment he created in Turkey, the HDP won 13 percent of the votes and 80 seats.Yet, while he was doing all this, the PKK apparently hijacked the HDP and faked its promises of peace and only established an infrastructure in eastern and southeastern Turkey that was preparation for Kurdish secession. Now we are all paying the price for this.
Can't the HDP leadership see this?
While announcing the HDP elections manifesto, Co-Chairman Selahattin Demirtaş made the following statement that hopefully is a direct reference to the PKK violence that has claimed dozens of lives since July: "Mahatma Gandhi said ‘overcome an unjust regime with justice and appear before the hands applauding you with hands that have not been stained by blood.' We only thank those who did something positive for the people and laid a stone on a stone for the people. But from now on we will walk ahead on our own." If this is a message to the PKK that the HDP will no longer be the pawn of the PKK then it is very positive.
But now we need actions to be louder than words. Then we can call the HDP populist and left-wing and not "Kurdish nationalist."
We are now calling the HDP "Kurdish nationalist" and they may object to people saying they are populist and left-wing. However what they say does not match their actions and as long as this is the case we are being kind calling them "Kurdish nationalist" and not "pro-separatist" or "pro-PKK terrorist."
The HDP won 13 percent of the national votes and this nation has given them 80 seats, which is a great gift from the voters of this country. They should have cherished these votes and these seats and should have acted accordingly. Yet they did not do this. On the contrary, soon after the elections their officials were saying they rely on the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in northern Syria and the armed youth wing of the PKK in Turkey. In fact what all this means is that we have our backs to the PKK and don't care at all for all the votes given to us.
Now the same HDP is once again facing the voters of this country with a manifesto that is rather appealing in some ways.
The HDP says it is the only party that relies on the people of this country to clean up the mess created by dirty politics, intrigue and bloodbaths. It says the HDP is the voice of the oppressed masses. The HDP says it set out to create a brand new life "on the lands that we all share as our home." The HDP says it set up the party in a flower garden containing all varieties of plants just like Turkey.
The HDP says the policies of rejection and denial of the Kurdish reality resulted in massive suffering for the Kurds of Turkey. The party is absolutely correct if he is talking about the period between 1984 and 2005. However, after that with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan taking over the rule of the country in earnest and after 2007 when he finished the military's political dominance and started concentrating on the Kurdish file, he has done everything to make the Kurds of Turkey feel like first class citizens of this country. Yes, we may have some more ground to cover but what he has done should be applauded and encouraged. Thanks to the positive environment he created in Turkey, the HDP won 13 percent of the votes and 80 seats.Yet, while he was doing all this, the PKK apparently hijacked the HDP and faked its promises of peace and only established an infrastructure in eastern and southeastern Turkey that was preparation for Kurdish secession. Now we are all paying the price for this.
Can't the HDP leadership see this?
While announcing the HDP elections manifesto, Co-Chairman Selahattin Demirtaş made the following statement that hopefully is a direct reference to the PKK violence that has claimed dozens of lives since July: "Mahatma Gandhi said ‘overcome an unjust regime with justice and appear before the hands applauding you with hands that have not been stained by blood.' We only thank those who did something positive for the people and laid a stone on a stone for the people. But from now on we will walk ahead on our own." If this is a message to the PKK that the HDP will no longer be the pawn of the PKK then it is very positive.
But now we need actions to be louder than words. Then we can call the HDP populist and left-wing and not "Kurdish nationalist."