The speakers were Ozturk Turkdogan (IHD President) and Ertugrul Kurkcu (HDP honorary chairman and former deputy).

The meeting was chaired by Gianfranco Frattoni (former co president of the Mouvement Contre Racisme et pour l’amitié entre les peuples, MRAP).

HDP Amed co-mayor Adnan Mizrakli could not attend the meeting in Geneva and sent a video message. “I would have liked to be with you - said Mizrakli from Amed - but I was imposed a ban and am not allowed to travel abroad.”

Mizrakli reminded that “the trustees are now a new thing. We have experienced the seizure of our municipalities before, in 2016.”

The co-mayor of Amed has been dismissed on 19 August by order of the Ministry of Interior. In addition to Amed, the HDP mayors of Van, Mardin, Kulp and Karayazi have also been replaced by trustees.

“I would like to invite the representatives of the European institutions - said Mizrakli - to come to Amed and see for themselves if there is any law and justice left in our country. I invite you to break the silence on what is going on here.”

IHD President, Ozturk Turkdogan, underlined the poor situation of human rights in Turkey. 

“Turkey - he said - is the only country of the Council of Europe to have been put under monitoring because of its poor record on human rights.”

Turkdogan remainded of the situation of former HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtas and underlined the situation of the prisons. “There are almost 300,000 people in Turkey’s jails. The situation has worsened since the 15 July 2016 failed coup.”

Former HDP deputy and party’s honorary president, Ertugrul Kurkçu, reminded how “millions in Turkey said no to tyranny on the local elections of 31 March. Indeed - said Kurkçu - the AKP is considering local government as a replica of the central government and parlament committed suicide by allowing Erdogan to get all powers.” 

Kurkçu said that “in Turkey in reality we are living in a distropia. The real coup was not the so called ‘failed’ coup of 16 July 2016. The real coup came after. And in fact we are still living in the aftermath of that coup.”

The HDP honorary president nevertheless said that “the Turkey which sides with democracy and change is making itself heard.”