Speaking in Osmaniye, HDP deputy co-chair, Tuncer Bakırhan, said that they will not forget the discriminatory policies towards the party members of the government and added that those who implement these practices will be held accountable before history.
Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputy co-chair, Tuncer Bakırhan, and HDP group deputy chair, Meral Danış Beştaş, met the people in Osmaniye as part of the ‘HDP people are everywhere’ campaign. In addition to Bakırhan and Beştaş, HDP members Tülay Hatimoğulları, Fatma Kurtulan and Kemal Peköz, and party members attended the meeting.
While the delegation was meeting with the public at the HDP Osmaniye Central District Organization building, the police blocked the building and checked everyone entering. Party members welcomed the delegation with applause and slogans. At the meeting, which started with a minute’s silence, HDP Osmaniye Provincial co-chair, Ali Coşkun, made the opening speech.
HDP group deputy chair, Meral Danış Beştaş, said that the Kurds in Osmaniye have been subjected to serious pressure and attacks, and added that the city of Osmaniye is a city for all peoples, including the Kurdish people. Referring to the ‘HDP people are everywhere’ campaign, Beştaş said that they are everywhere as a party and they are fighting. Reminding the murder of Deniz Poyraz in the HDP provincial building in Izmir, Beştaş said that those who kill the Kurdish people were left unpunished by the state. Mentioning the ongoing hunger strikes demanding the end of isolation in Imrali, Beştaş said that the rightful demands of the detainees should be fulfilled. Criticizing the police cameras' recording of the meeting, Beştaş said: "You have to recognize these people. This discrimination shows that democracy is over in Turkey."
The HDP is fighting to end discrimination, said Beştaş adding that the AKP and the MHP are the 'separatists' in this country. "We are HDP supporters, we are everywhere. We will continue to be everywhere."
HDP deputy co-chair, Tuncer Bakırhan, on the other hand, reacted to the practices of the police in the city and said that the Kurdish people would not be harmed by anti-democratic practices. Bakırhan said that those who implement these practices will be held accountable before history.
Talking about the closure case against the HDP, Bakırhan said: "The HDP is the people, the HDP will not bow. The name of the party changes, but the people are here. We will not have our party shut down. We will protect our party." The Kurdish people want their most basic rights, Bakırhan said.
The HDP will continue its program in Hatay today.
