Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK) co-spokespersons Ertuğrul Kürkçü and Sebahat Tuncel answered journalists’ questions before the HDK General Assembly meeting held in Cezayir Meeting Hall located in İstanbul’s Beyoğlu district.

Ertuğrul Kürkçü noted that President Tayyip Erdoğan and AKP put into place mechanism of a coup after June 7 elections, adding; “The AKP government which is politically illegitimate and the President who recognizes no constitutional rights have taken action for a coup.”

Kürkçü recalled Erdoğan’s statement that 'Turkey’s regime transformed on August 10', and said that this statement resembled the speeches of Kenan Evren during the September 12 military coup  period.

Kürkçü touched upon the conflict in Kurdistan after the recent activation of a concept of war, and said that the only reason for the ongoing war was the regime change. Kürkçü emphasized that the war started after voters’ rejection of Erdoğan’s presidency during June 7 elections, and stated that the goal of HDP and HDK was to frustrate the war of dictatorship and end the ongoing conflict in the country.

Criticizing Erdoğan’s announcement that the solution process was ‘put in the freezer’, Kürkçü said that the process would stink because this freezer no longer functioned. Kürkçü added that it would be difficult to restart the process after its current pause, and the ongoing arrests and operations against HDP and HDK members could target everyone unless a united struggle against the operations took place.

HDK Co-Spokesperson Tuncel stated that the AKP’s gradually expanding operations of political genocide aimed to weaken the society’s reflex and destroyed the space for democratic politics. Tuncel asked how those that destroy democratic spaces could talk about peace, and said that we were witnessing a return to the 1990s today. Tuncel said that the silence against state policies meant the implementation of these policies, and Kurds as the grandchildren of Şeyh Said and Seyit Rıza would not be intimidated by such operations. Tuncel noted that the arrests of thousands of people during KCK operations changed nothing, and violence would restart if democratic politics were destroyed.

Tuncel said that AKP and Erdoğan were waging a war of politics and profit through the blood of peoples’ children, but the war could still be stopped. Tuncel stated that war was killing peoples’ conscience, and called upon every one to say ‘stop the war.’ Tuncel objected to Erdoğan’s statement that the regime had changed, and said that this change was Erdoğan’s imagination since it is unknown to peoples.

Tuncel emphasized that peoples’ self-governance was more realistic than Erdoğan’s presidency, and the nation-state mentality was at a deadlock. She ended her statements by calling for the restart of negotiations with PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and warning that war could only end the power of governments, not increase it.

The co-spokespersons attended the HDK General Assembly Meeting after their press conference.