Democratic Society Congress (DTK), Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK), Free Women's Movement (Tevgera Jinên Azad, TJA), Democratic Regions Party (DBP) and Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) have signed a joine-t declaration to organize the opposition so the outcome of the ballot is “no” in the referendum for the constitutional amendment passed the parliament by the AKP-MHP alliance and is awaiting approval from President Erdoğan. The campaign has the slogan “Insist in democracy with the Newroz spirit, say no to dictatorship with NO!” and it will include efforts in every city, every home and person to person. HDP is the third largest party in the parliament, attempted to be eradicated from the political arena through arrests, attacks and lynch policies, and its MPs announced their strategy.

HDP MPs Dilek Öcalan, Sibel Yiğitalp and Leyla Birlik spoke to ANF about the upcoming referendum.

ÖCALAN: TURKEY WILL BE DRAGGED INTO A DEEP CHAOS

HDP Urfa MP Dilek Öcalan said the situation Turkey is in has no explanation, and that the main reason for the crisis and chaos is the AKP government itself. Öcalan pointed out that all society’s values were being destroyed through this amendment and said: “They are overturning the society’s values and creating a constitution that is centered around one man. It’s not right for Turkey to go to the ballots when different groups can’t express themselves and are under pressure in the State of Emergency process. This will drag Turkey into a deeper chaos.”

“AKP HAS RUN ITS COURSE”

Öcalan said that dictators prepare their own downfalls and added: “What’s happening today in Turkey is similar. Turkey had been dragged into an unknown path for years. Every new government built a system based on monism. In this century we live in, the politics in Turkey have run their course. Building power over death and destruction isn’t sustainable in the long run. The AKP has run its course, and the countdown will end with the referendum.”

“WAR WILL END IF PEOPLE SAY NO TO AKP”

Öcalan stated that the AKP pulled Turkey back 20 years when they ended the solution process that they were never sincere about in the first place and continued: “The right to life, the most fundamental human right, is being violated. The governing party’s narrative of ‘If you don’t vote for us, there will be more deaths’ is actually the opposite. If the people say no to AKP, the war will end. The government will have to stop abusing the authority they gathered in their hands. If the outcome is YES, Turkey will enter a mess of catastrophies.”

“WE WILL OVERCOME”

Öcalan stressed that they will fight against the wrongs and said: “The government aimed to kill in the ‘90s. And now, they think they can bring us to our knees with arrests. I can be arrested today like all my other friends. But we know this, and the state knows this as well, that we are an organized people and we will overcome this. There will be losses, but we will not lose. The end will be spectacular. It will be crowned with glory. Right now, we are in such a better place in terms of organization, and we will be the loudest voice in the ballots saying no.”

YİĞİTALP: AKP AND MHP FORMED A FRONT

HDP Amed MP Sibel Yiğitalp stated that the AKP government ran a campaign based on the rule of the palace and said that they will continue the referendum efforts despite the pressure of Statutory Decrees and the intense security. Yiğitalp added that they were taking on the referendum efforts under unequal conditions and said: “Our members of parliament and thousands of our members are in prison, that is a pillar of the AKP building their YES campaign. They did the same thing in the June 7 elections. AKP and MHP formed a front based around the national agreement. They made that decision on the morning of June 8. This was the strategy behind renewing the elections.”

“THE ORIGIN IS THE EASTERN REFORMS PLAN”

Yiğitalp said the attacks on the self governance areas were the same as the collapse plan known in history and added: “We can’t think of this as different from the Eastern Reforms Plan of the 1930s. There is no difference between this process and its nation state mentality and the logic of the 1924 constitution. The reason for them attacking harder in this process is them answering the resistance of a people who is much better organized and has high political awareness, in a harsher way. That is why we don’t consider this to be ‘just a referendum process to get through’. We know where this referendum takes its origins from. That is why we refuse it.”

“IT WILL BE THE END OF EITHER ERDOĞAN OR THE PEOPLES OF TURKEY”

Yiğitalp pointed out that those who said “no” to the amendment for a one-man regime are being arrested one by one and stated that they have received positive results in field studies conducted for the referendum, that all the people in Kurdistan from children to the elderly knew that the true goal of the referendum is a dictatorship and thus they planned on saying no. Yiğitalp said the AKP government and President Erdoğan are holding an illegitimate referendum and added: “All state officials have been mobilized right now. Erdoğan knows he won’t win despite that and that is why he wants to create such a chaos through arrests. This referendum will be the end of either Erdoğan or the peoples of Turkey. The Kurdish movement and the social democrats have come together around ‘No’. We will prevail.”

“EVERYBODY SHOULD JOIN THIS VOICE”

Yiğitalp asked what the referendum would be solving despite all the crises in Turkey and continued: “Will this referendum solve the problems of the youth, the women? Will it solve the economic and social problems in the country? This referendum doesn’t solve any problems, on the contrary, it increases the existing ones. The best thing to do for the solution of these problems is saying ‘no’. When we say no, we also say no to the 1982 constitution. We will continue to say no until there is a democratic constitution. We are not saying no just for the Kurds. We will say no for the Alevis, Sunnis, Kurds, Turks and all the otherized peoples. It’s important for everybody to join this voice.”

BİRLİK: THIS PROCESS WILL BRING ABOUT THE END OF TURKEY

HDP Şırnak MP Leyla Birlik was arrested in the operation against HDP MPs on November 4 and was released last month. She stressed that a constitution that will determine the fate of a country can’t be made under state of emergency conditions. Birlik said only coup plotters and dictators can do such a constitutional amendment and said the following, comparing the amendment in question and the 1980 coup: “These events are a process even above the ’80 coup. The government didn’t commit covert rights violations and executions. They did everything out in the open, to instill fear. In the ‘80s the state would cover up their acts. But today, the whole world was made to watch the atrocities in the Cizre basements. We can’t say this period, when all the opposition is arrested, all media is silenced, all others are eliminated through the narrative of one language one flag one religion, can ever be equaled in any other periods in the Republic of Turkey. This process will truly bring about the end of Turkey.”

“KURDS’ VOTES ARE CRITICAL”

Birlik said the amendment taken to the ballots is the constitution not of the people but of a single man and continued: “This constitution will be the constitution of one group, of the government. It won’t be the constitution of the peoples. Without establishing a democratic atmosphere, lifting the state of emergency and ensuring the citizens can go to the ballots with their free will, a referendum can’t be held. Can there be a constitution agreed upon by AKP and MHP that will determine the fate of the country? We will continue our fight until a constitution discussed by all constituents in Turkey is on the agenda. Amending the constitution like this with the Kurdish issue unsolved will drag Turkey into more chaos. The country is already being pushed over a cliff for the dictatorship of one single man. The Kurds’ votes are critical for this referendum. Like in June 7 elections, the narrative of ‘If you don’t vote for us instability will run rampant’ has failed. They think they can garner votes today as well by doing the same thing. We will visit every house on every street and continue to tell the people about the lies of AKP and Erdoğan. We have started already. We will talk about the articles in the amendment with the people non-stop.”

“PREPARED SO THEY CAN AVOID TRIAL”

Birlik said they are certain the peoples will say “no” to the dictatorial regime and added that the leftist, socialist groups and the Kurdish people will go to the ballots and say “no” in the spirit of Newroz. Birlik stated that the AKP government wanted to go to a referendum and amend the constitution as soon as possible to avoid trial, and continued: “There were unlawful practices of the AKP before and after the coup attempt, not the least of which were the massacres in Kurdistan. They are panicking because they would be put on trial for what they did. Right now, during a state of emergency, a constitutional amendment isn’t in line with the laws. To avoid trial, Erdoğan is blatantly abandoning his ‘neutral’ position and conducting a referendum campaign. One can’t design the law to fit the current de facto situation. The de facto neutral situation has to be removed. Constitutional violations continue even now. They are doing this so they won’t have to answer for what they did. They want to change the constitution to have a constitutional protection over them. And we will organize the No vote by continuing our work everywhere.”