According to HDP Hakkari Deputy Said Dede, the root of the problems in Hakkari is the deadlock in the Kurdish question. He stressed that, “We will continue to struggle for peace, justice and democracy.”
The Kurdish province of Hakkari is home to 300,000 people and has the right to elect three deputies in general elections. In the 2018 General Elections, HDP won seats for three deputies by getting over 70 percent of the vote in the city. Although Leyla Güven, Sait Dede and Özgür Zeydanoğlu were elected as deputies, Zeydanoğlu's seat was dropped due to the votes which came from abroad, while Güven was stripped of her parliamentary seat and arrested on June 5, 2020. She was later sentenced to 22 years in prison.
Speaking to ANF, HDP Hakkari Deputy Dede said that since their election, they have given voice in parliament to all the problems experienced in Hakkari and they will continue to do so. “The city has a long list of problems such as murders from the border to the city centre, economic embargo, declaration of forbidden zones and suspension of fundamental rights and freedoms. Since the city is predominantly Kurdish and its people are oppositional, the residents face problems more than anywhere else. We seek solutions together with our people and address the problems in the parliament.”
The MP continued, “We do our best in the parliament. We represent the people of Hakkari and we have to be their voice. We have to reveal all the problems and demands of the people to Turkey’s public and the world. We do that, indeed. We have addressed all the problems in Hakkari in the parliament. We find solutions to some of them, but most of the problems remain unsolved because the root cause has nothing to do with us. This root cause is the deadlock in the Kurdish issue. Just like Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan is in isolation, so are the people of Hakkari. In fact, this is the main cause of these issues. When the isolation is lifted, these causes will also be eliminated.”
Dede pointed to the degradation of the Turkish parliament following the introduction of the Turkish-type presidential system. He stated that solutions to the problems cannot only be found in the parliament. “We will continue to struggle for peace, justice and democracy. We will carry out our struggle both in the parliament and in the public sphere. Of course, we will do our best in the parliament, but we will not restrict ourselves to parliamentarian activities.”
