Martin Flückiger, President of the Swiss Party BastA [Strong Alternative of Basel], which is exclusively in the canton of Basel city active, spoke to ANF about the AKP and Erdoğan's war against the Kurdish people and democracy forces, the snap election of November 1, declarations of self-rule in North Kurdistan and Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan's role for the achievement of peace.

Flückiger stated that democratic autonomy, or self rule, should be advanced in a way to involve not only Kurds but also all peoples living in Turkey.

‘ERDOĞAN PURSUES A BLOODY POLICY FOR HIS OWN RULING'

Fluckiger said it was unacceptable that Erdoğan dragged the country into a renewed conflict due to his personal greed after the HDP success in June 7 election had raised great hopes among pro-peace circles both inside and outside the country.

Pointing out that Erdoğan resorted to a bloody policy to regain the power he lost with HDP's success and to realize his dream to become the President, Fluckiger said the massacre of civilians caused by this policy was also unacceptable.

'SELF-RULE IS AN INCONTESTABLE RIGHT'

President of the BastA Party strongly criticized the war that Erdoğan started against the Kurdish people after ignoring the peace talks going on for a long time, and defined the Kurdish people's declaration of self-rule in response to the Turkish state's war policy as an incontestable right.

Noting that declarations of self-rule coincided a wrong period in terms of timing, Flückiger remarked that self-rule or democratic autonomy could offer a solution to many deep rooted problems in Turkey.

He underlined that democratic autonomous ruling was the only way to achieve democratization in Turkey that today faced many problems due to the centralist government, adding; "Building of an autonomous system in line with Öcalan's philosophy is of great importance for the future of Turkey's peoples. It is, however, open to question if the Turkish state would agree on such a democratic system in which it would have to share the power of the centralist system."

'ELECTIONS CANNOT BE HELD UNDER REPRESSION AND VIOLENCE'

Stating that a democratic election cannot take place amid the ongoing war in the Kurdistan territory, President of the Swiss Party said; “It has no single democratic aspect to declare numerous areas as security zones under the name of fight against PKK and to impose a snap election under the current circumstances. An election to be held in a region under repression and violence can never be a democratic one.”

Pointing to the need for the silence of arms by both sides in order for the election to take place in a democratic environment, Flückiger said the Turkish state in the first place must abandon the repressive policy it pursued against the people in the Kurdish region at the moment.

'ERDOĞAN RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ATTACKS ON HDP'

Flückiger said attacks on HDP have reached an unacceptable dimension and emphasized that the HDP must be protected and supported in all aspects as it maintains its persistent stance for peace despite all the impositions of war by Erdoğan.

"Erdoğan has dragged the country into a renewed conflict for the sake of his own ruling and he wants to use the nationalist spirit in the country against the HDP which it holds responsible for the deaths he himself has caused."

‘ÖCALAN MUST BE FREE FOR A TRUE PEACE'

The Swiss politician underlined that Turkey was dragged into a big war every time Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan was subjected to isolation or attempts to silence him.

Pointing out that the Turkish state needed to comprehend Öcalan's role in the achievement of peace, he said; "Any kind of isolation on a leader- who is so much integrated with the Kurdish people in every sense and insists so much on peace- would mean insistence on a deadlock. Öcalan must be free in order for the achievement of a true peace in Turkey."

'SWITZERLAND MUST STOP SALE OF ARMS TO TURKEY'

Reminding that the Swiss constitution prohibited arms sale to the states engaged in a conflict, Flückiger said the Swiss government kept selling arms to the Turkish state which -he noted- waged a war against the Kurds and killed guerrillas and civilians with the arms it purchased from Switzerland.

Flückiger urged the Swiss government to immediately stop arms sale to Turkey, which constitutes a violation of its own constitution, and not be a party of the killings perpetrated by Turkey.