ANKARA - DEM Party Spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan criticized the commission for still not having a roadmap, saying, “The commission must find a formula for meeting with Mr. Öcalan without delay.”

 

Halkların Eşitlik ve Demokrasi Partisi (DEM Party) Spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan spoke at a press conference held at her party's headquarters regarding current developments and decisions taken by the Central Executive Committee (CEC).

 

'Anti-democratic practices have reached provincial congresses'

 

Beginning her speech with the trustee practices against the CHP, Ayşegül Doğan stated that they were facing lawlessness. Ayşegül Doğan said, "To such an extent that anti-democratic practices, manifested by the appointment of trustees to municipalities by undermining the will of the people, have now reached provincial congresses. The trustee mentality is a malicious mentality. We said trusteeship is destruction, we said it is evil. A lawsuit cannot be filed in a court of law to request the cancellation of a provincial congress. This is not a debatable issue. 

 

From this perspective, this decision is unlawful and illegitimate. If opened, the courts of law, if you claim to be a state governed by the rule of law, should dismiss these cases on the grounds of lack of jurisdiction. However, we are not facing such a situation here. Why? Because what is actually being attempted is a new design for the opposition on the political stage. We see this clearly. Many steps have already been taken so far."

 

Ayşegül Doğan went on to say:

 

"Let the judiciary do its job and be the guarantor of the law. This issue cannot, of course, be evaluated independently of the commission. Because the expectation from the commission is to sort of insert a stent into this narrowed political arena, to open up a path. The political arena has narrowed so much; the distrust in society has risen so much that the only thing that can reverse this is more democratization, opening up the space for freedom, and ensuring the rule of law.

 

The commission must find a formula for meeting with Mr. Öcalan.

 

The commission's focus is extremely clear to us. Of course, there are certain requirements for the commission's work to achieve its goal. Now, you will not meet with the main interlocutor, you will not hear his ideas, views, and suggestions; you will not meet with Öcalan, who is trying to open up space for dialogue, who is trying to establish guarantees for coexistence, and whose leadership is undisputed... You will bog the commission down in a debate about what this will bring to the country and what it will take away. Then, yes, you will have strayed from your focus. You will not have looked back at where you should have focused. This must not be done.

 

The new cannot be built on old habits

 

Unfortunately, in the process we are going through, the groundwork for the commission is being approached with old codes. It is being approached with traditional habits. The new cannot be built on old habits. We need to break out of the mold. You can break out by creating a turning point. Yet, the preferred taboos remain!

 

We need to abandon these two mindsets. Who is waiting for what, and why, to understand the value of this and make it permanent? Why does this commission still not have a roadmap? Why does the public not have enough information about this commission's roadmap?

 

What will happen to the Peace and Democratic Society Group?

 

It will be almost a year... It has been almost a year since Mr. Bahçeli said, “Let him come and speak in Parliament, let him be given the right to hope.” What has happened beyond these words? What has happened beyond these words regarding Mr. Öcalan?

 

Yet he made a call on February 27. This call laid the groundwork for a very important development. Then, with his second video message on July 9, we saw weapons being burned and destroyed in Sulaymaniyah on July 11.

 

Mr. Bahçeli also says: ‘I wish those who burned and destroyed their weapons there that day could return.’ How will they return? How will the Peace and Democratic Society Group be included in life, politics, and the democratic political arena, Mr. Bahçeli, Mr. President, Mr. Kurtulmuş? Everyone, from the ruling party to the opposition, should feel responsible for answering this question and should work towards it.

 

Kurdish gains are being portrayed as a threat

 

We frequently see statements about the YPG, PYD, and SDG. We see that Kurdish gains are being portrayed as a threat. We say that this must now stop. This language creates tension; this language creates anxiety. 

 

This language is not the language of seeking solutions. Wherever Kurds live, they are not a threat to Turkey; they should only be seen as an opportunity for Turkey's unity.

 

Turkey establishing good relations with the Kurds in Syria and taking steps to guarantee their rights will also make its own security more robust. It will become an opportunity within its own security. 

 

Those who govern Turkey should hold talks with the administration of Northeast Syria. Those who govern Turkey should correctly assess and interpret Salih Muslim's message that “if necessary, I will run to Turkey for a solution.”