“Tayyip Erdoğan is scared; he's afraid of the people, he's afraid that his sultanate will fall," said HDP honorary chair, Ertuğrul Kürkçü, at an election event of the Green Left Party in Berlin.
An election event for the Green Left Party took place in Berlin. The Green Left Party is standing in Turkey's parliamentary elections on 14 May. The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) will enter the election under the umbrella of the Green Left Party. People living abroad can vote between 27 April and 9 May.
The event in Kreuzberg had a combative festival character. Musicians Maviş Güneşer, Yaşar Kurt and Hozan Kawa performed between the speeches. When Armenian demonstrators protesting against the attacks on Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) marched onto Oranienplatz, they were greeted with applause and internationalist slogans.
Among the speakers were HDP politicians Ahmet Yildirim, Ertuğrul Kürkçü and Menekşe Kızıldere. Former MP Yildirim, who is now living in exile in Germany due to political persecution in Turkey, explained the importance of the presidential and parliamentary elections on 14 May: “We have the opportunity to erase from history those who oppressed us. However, the fall of Erdoğan won’t be enough. In order to persuade Erdoğan's successor to make real change, the Green Left Party needs to have enough MPs in parliament.”
HDP honorary chair Ertuğrul Kürkçü told the crowd that “the Green Left Party is the address for all those who want to get rid of the current regime. The presidential system that Tayyip Erdoğan installed for himself can put in jail whoever takes power. In order to influence the person who will replace the president, the Green Left Party must have a strong number of MPs. To be revolutionary is to choose when you must choose, fight when you must fight, flee when you must flee, hunt when you must hunt. Today is the time to hunt down Erdoğan. Half of this society has said no to Erdoğan. We need to strengthen that. Tayyip Erdoğan is scared; he is afraid of people; he is afraid that his sultanate will fall.”
Kürkçü appealed to women: “Our greatest hope lies in you. Women, get rid of men, the state and all rulers today!”
Menekşe Kızıldere is a candidate for the party in Istanbul. She talked about the mood in Kurdistan and Turkey. "In this election, the current government will go and it will be the Kurds to make sure that it does. The real festival will be on 15 May.”
