Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) İzmir Deputy Ertuğrul Kürkçü on Aug. 14 called on people to join in civil disobedience law during the fourth stage of the Watch for Justice events in İzmir, inviting the People's Republican Party (CHP) to support the watch.
Stating that the HDP is keeping the CHP's Justice March event up with the Watch for Justice, Kürkçü said: "I think the watch will be the first step in what will be a wave of civil disobedience with a high rate of participation."
Kürkçü also called on the CHP to support the Watch for Justice events, saying that the watch is as important as the Justice March event with regard to cultivating democracy. He added that CHP deputies should participate in the watch to show solidarity against the government.
The HDP yesterday began the fourth step of Watch for Justice events in İzmir on the anniversary of the date of the PKK's first attack, Aug. 15. The watch is expected to last for six days. The watch in İzmir will be the fourth stage in a series of HDP events, coming after events held in Diyarbakır, Istanbul and Van. There have reportedly been low participation rates at the HDP watches.
The ties between the CHP and the HDP have gradually become stronger recently. On Aug. 10, HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş, who is in prison for insulting the Republic of Turkey and the Turkish nation, invited his party to participate in a Justice Congress, which will be held by the CHP on Aug. 26 to Aug. 30 in the western province of Çanakkale.
The CHP showed support for the HDP's watch, as some CHP deputies visited their HDP counterparts on Aug. 2 at Yoğurtçu Park in Istanbul. During the CHP's visit to the Watch for Justice, CHP Istanbul Deputy Sezgin Tanrıkulu said that a reconciliation process is required. Also, the head of the CHP's Istanbul branch, Cemal Canpolat, called on citizens to lend support to the HDP's watch: "I urge citizens to stand by our friends."
Also, on Aug. 10, HDP Ankara Deputy Sırrı Süreyya Önder called on the CHP to act in unison. "Forming a bloc with the HDP, the CHP and many other partners is a must. If it is achieved, it shouldn't be an alliance of slogans but rather an alliance of action and joint programs," Önder said.
The HDP announced on July 20 that the party will hold a Watch for Justice across the countryThe first event began on July 25 in Diyarbakır and lasted seven days. The second step in the protests began in Istanbul at Yoğurtçu Park and also lasted seven days. Before the protests in İzmir, which are expected to last six days, the HDP held protests in Van province.
The HDP's decision to be "on the watch for justice" across the country comes after CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu completed a 400-kilometer Justice March from Ankara to Istanbul on July 9. The HDP lent its support to Kılıçdaroğlu's march with HDP lawmakers marching alongside Kılıçdaroğlu.