HDP deputy chair Oluç: The fight goes on

Saruhan Oluç, deputy chair of the Peoples’s Democratic Party (HDP), talked to ANF about yesterday's political operation in Turkey.

Saruhan Oluç said that the HDP should be eliminated through arrests and repression, as this is the strategy decided by the Turkish Security Council in 2014.

Oluç recalled the government's unsuccessful domestic and foreign policy and stated that the AKP / MHP coalition has reached the end.

"This operation is the continuation of the 2014-devised extermination plan. – said Oluç - It is a step aimed at pushing the HDP and its allies and affiliates off the political arena."

Oluç pointed out that it is the last step of a process which began with the arrest of the HDP chairmen and MPs in 2016. The investigation into the Kobanê uprising in October 2014 did not begin until 2015, according to Oluç, who said: “To date, nothing has been done. Because the resistance is still going on despite all the annihilation operations. Thus an attack is now being carried out against the HDP to implement that destruction plan."

Many government initiatives have recently been unsuccessful, according to the HDP politician. “An attempt was made to provoke an incident in the eastern Mediterranean region. Then the government had to take a step back and sit down at the negotiating table. It also wanted to make itself important in the Aegean, but this also turned out to be a failure and negotiations began. The Libya adventure does not lead to any result; on the contrary, the balance of power has changed and the Turkish government sees that its plans are now futile. The society is no longer interested in what the government is doing or planning to do in Afrin, Idlib or north-eastern Syria. Since the foreign policy is so unsuccessful, the government has no option but attacking the HDP, the democratic forces and everything Kurdish at home. It will try and see whether this procedure works."

The government is trying to stay on its feet a few days longer, said Oluç. As to the domestic political situation, he said: “A serious crisis is taking place on the economic and social level. The cost of living is very high. The actual numbers are much higher than those officially stated. No new jobs are created and the unemployment rate is rising. A look at the macroeconomic data reveals a serious economic decline. The government is trying to create a certain atmosphere in order to avoid discussion on certain issues. It is assumed that this can be done by mounting operations against the Kurds and the HDP. The society is heated up with hate speech and enemy discourses and laws. But the government will finally have to see for itself that it has reached the end of the road."

Oluç recalled that the government coalition has fallen sharply in all opinion polls. The HDP deputy chair also stated: “A look at the democratic forces in Turkey shows that the social and political opposition is clearly positioning itself, especially against the most recent extermination campaign. This applies to political parties and civil society organizations as well as to individuals. In the meantime, no one accepts that the Kurds and the HDP are declared enemies and targeted with hate speech. If those in power fail in this latest attempt, they will be left with nothing. We will leave them alone with their oppression and their lack of rights. We'll definitely win and get what we want. They, however, will suffer a heavy defeat. In due course, they will be brought to justice for violations of rights and freedoms under democratic legal standards. That is why we say: The fight continues."