Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) organised workshops in Ankara, Konya and Eskişehir on how the 13 decisions taken at the 5th Great Ordinary Congress will be implemented locally on September 7 at the party headquarters in Ankara.

In the workshops held, topics such as “Democratic Alliance”, “Building a Democratic Republic”, “Peace and Resolution Against War and Isolation Policies”, “Prison Rights Violations and Sick Prisoners”, “Democratic and Public Economic Life”, “Combating Crimes Committed Against Nature”, “Seeds Are Growing”, “Democratic Local Governments”, “Youth Assemblies”, “Disability Policies”, “People's Peace”, “A Free Future with Children” and “A Humane and Dignified Life for Retired Persons” were discussed jointly by all participants.

HDP PM (Party Assembly) member Bedriye Yorgun, who coordinated the workshops with Women's Coordination and PM member Nilgün Salmaner, evaluated their work and results for MA.

Yorgun pointed out that the main policy of HDP is to manage life together with the local people, and that they aimed to focus on what kind of policy is implemented in the local area and the deficiencies in producing solutions to the problems.

'BEING ORGANISED IS IMPORTANT'

Saying that the HDP's understanding of politics and policy-making mechanisms are different from those of the parties within the system, Yorgun said, “Our difference is to make politics appropriate and with local dynamics like women, non-governmental organizations, etc. It is to organise the individual from themselves, their family and neighborhood and then their town. We have seen that this is not the case in practice, and an understanding that expects a little more from the center prevails. No matter how strong your paradigm and ideological political line on which you really base your politics, there must be an equivalent organised mechanism for it to be organised and practiced or for the socialisation of politics and the politicisation of society. We have seen that our political line and ideological arguments are accepted by the society and sufficiently understood.

BEING THE POWER FOR SOLUTION

Stating that they determined deficiencies in that regard during the workshops, Yorgun said that they listed these deficiencies and will work on them. Underlining that isolation remains to be one of the main issues, Yorgun said: "The isolation is not only implemented in İmralı. It is everywhere and it is the biggest obstacle in front of the democratisation of Turkey. At the Free Future with Children Workshop, it became even more meaningful that the prevention of children's right to education in their mother tongue is important from their mental development to the liberation of the individual, and that the locals and the people living should find solutions to this problem. As policy makers, it is necessary not to see these topics as areas of expertise, but to see that these topics are part of our lives.”

'WE WILL EXPAND THE WORK'

Pointing out that the workshops create excitement and motivation, Yorgun added the following: “We carried out a workshop that embodied our strategic understanding and approach, made it understandable, discussing the deficiencies with local friends and producing solutions. The determination to bring the issues into our party program, to keep the reflexes a little stronger, to realize the events with a strategic approach rather than a casual one was revealed. We discussed how the third way should be handled locally and how it should be institutionalised. With an approach that strengthens democracy within itself and makes its alliance with peoples, beliefs, tradesmen, farmers, women, workers and the whole society, we have considered our field of action in a comprehensive and deep realisation. We aim to expand this work. We will carry out this work in each city.”