HDP parliamentary group deputy leader Meral Danış Beştaş commented on the hunger strike against Abdullah Öcalan's isolation and the Turkish government's legal reform announcements in an ANF interview.

The Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe have published reports on the isolation torture in Imrali. How should one understand the Turkish government’s insistence on the isolation of Imrali detainees?

The government refuses to find a solution to the issue of isolation and insists on an illegal stance that completely ignores legislation, international agreements, the constitution and the decisions of international bodies. It relies on war in its foreign policy and on the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan in its domestic policy and, in connection with this, on the rejection of a peaceful solution. There is a connection in all of this.

What do you think of the renewed hunger strike in the prisons demanding the lifting of isolation?

The fact that people in this country have to go on hunger strike in order for the laws to be applied is indicative of the terrible situation. People in prisons have no contact with the outside world and, locked between four walls, fight against any form of violation of the law. With the pandemic, their situation has worsened dramatically. By going on hunger strike, they are putting their existence at risk and demonstrating the level at which the totalitarian regime is now operating. As a result of the hunger strikes in the past, some promises have been made. Talks have been forced through and the Minister of Justice had to declare that he will abide by the law. However, we are dealing with a government that quickly forgets its promises and puts them to rest. It has long since lost its legitimacy. The Minister of Justice is the person who is primarily responsible for implementing the laws in this country. When even his promises are not kept, it is no longer just a matter of lawlessness, but rather of despotism.

It is well known that Öcalan criticizes the method of hunger strike. During the hunger strike led by Leyla Güven for the lifting of his isolation, he intervened and called for finding other methods. Is the current hunger strike an indication that legal and political avenues are closed?

Yes, Abdullah Öcalan is against hunger strikes for himself or for other goals. However, in the current situation, all other avenues are closed. Words no longer have any power and attempts are being made to take away all influence from legal politics. The people who have decided to go on hunger strike apparently see no other means left. We cannot make decisions for them. After all, it is not us who decide, but the prisoners themselves. We are a party that draws attention to the isolation and the situation in the prisons outside and fights against it. I don't think it's right to judge the decision of the prisoners. Obviously, they decided to go on hunger strike because the isolation continues despite the various resistance and the situation has stalled.

As you have mentioned, Justice Minister Abdülhamit Gül said in the course of the last hunger strike that there is no obstacle to lawyer talks, but the reality is different. Can you say that the government is doing the exact opposite of what it announces?

Of course, one can say that. After all, that is the reason why no word by this government is trusted anymore. It cannot be trusted because it sometimes does the opposite 24 hours later and sometimes a week later. The lack of trustworthiness is one of the essential traits of this government. It changes its mind at will; there is a gap between practice and theory. It is not concerned with rights, the constitution, the people, social demands, or peace, stability, happiness, and health. It is concerned only with its own benefits.

And what about the announced legal reforms?

Before the government initiates reforms, it should simply comply with existing legislation, the constitution and international conventions. As long as the judiciary is under the command of the government, reforms make no sense. It is much more important to apply the laws. Given this situation, I don't even have to say that I don't trust the reform announcements.

The HDP is increasingly the focus of hate speech. What is the government trying to achieve with its aggressive stance against your party?

By attacking the HDP, the government wants to distract attention from its own crimes, corruption and theft. However, the HDP is a democratic party of the peoples and the attacks have never achieved their goal. This will continue to be the case.