The fact that concrete measures to counter the recent coronavirus outbreak were not taken in Kurdistan revealed the dimensions such hostility towards the Kurdish people.

HDP Iğdır MP Habip Eksik evaluated the policies of the Turkish state against Kurdistan, the Kurdish people and the developments in the region in the context of the COVID-19 emergency.

Stating that enmity against the Kurdish people in the Middle East territory dates back to very old times, Eksik added: "This hostility however take its most concrete form after the founding of the Republic which replace the 1921 Constitution with the new one in 1924 which incorporated the monochromatic understanding of the nation state."

Eksik continued: "The process of destroying, ignoring, assimilating the Kurds began. As a result of these policies, hostility towards Kurds began a constant feature and soon turned into a state policy, also thanks to many reports issued ad hoc. The common aspects of all of these reports are that they fuel a Kurdish hostility that nears racism. In fact, these reports come to such points that some politicians will go as far as to say 'wherever you see a person who says he is Kurd, spit on his face'".

Kurdish cities destroyed

Eksik added: "The AKP government took over in 2002 as a result of an economic crisis while the Kurdish hostility continued. It said 'I will solve this Kurdish problem'. We all know what happened after. This 'process' ended in hypocrisy, the destruction of our cities and the body of Taybet Mother left in the middle of the street. The will of the people ignored."

Eksik underlined that the hostility towards Kurds embraced every sphere of life, included health. "The AKP government deals with health with a market-oriented policy. It has not invested properly in the most densely populated Kurdish cities. Many hospitals in the Kurdish region do not have enough equipment or doctors. There are some hospitals which nobody would say they are indeed hospitals. A case in point is the hospital in Tuzluca, Iğdır, my constituency."

Emphasizing that the AKP has also created new policies that make it difficult for the Kurdish people to access health, Eksik, said: "The appointment of trustees is the most concrete form of hostility in this period when solidarity is needed and our municipalities were trying to do something for the health of the public. The AKP government appointed trustees precisely now, thus putting our people's health at risk."

The importance of people unity

Eksik pointed out the importance of people unity against such policies and said: "Kurdish hostility, as we have seen, is not something new. The AKP government is the last of many. Kurdish hostility policies will leave us without a doctor, and will continue to leave us helpless and vulnerable even in times of epidemic. Which is why we have to strengthen our feelings of unity, togetherness, solidarity and struggle. We will achieve healthy and democratic free days in common life with all the peoples of the Middle East."

Eksik MP ended his remarks with a call on people. "Stay at home. Let's protect our society. There were many who want to destroy us, and they ended up in the dustbin of history."