The Eastern Mediterranean Department Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office responded to the letter sent by Peace in Kurdistan Campaign on 22 May to the UK Foreign Secretary about Turkey. 

The Eastern Mediterranean Department of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has been asked to reply.

The answer reads: “We have been following events in Turkey, including the trial you have highlighted, known as the ‘Kobani case’, and government attempts to close down the People’s Democratic Party (HDP). Our Embassy meets regularly with the HDP leadership, as it does with other opposition parties, to discuss their concerns, including the attempts to close the party, the replacement of HDP mayors with government appointees and the arrests of HDP MPs and party members. Where Covid rules allow we monitor high profile trials via our Embassy. Officials were present at the recent Kobani trial.”

The letter also mentioned the case of Selahattin Demirtaş, former co-chair of the HDP. “We remain concerned about the imprisonment of Selahattin Demirtaş in Turkey. With our international partners, we call on Turkey to meet its obligations as a founding member of the Council of Europe and release Demirtaş from his extended pre-trial detention. The Kurdish peace process has broken down and the ongoing violence in the predominantly Kurdish areas of south-east Turkey is very concerning.”

The letter continued: “We hope that a peace process can be resumed in the future and have provided funding to civil society organisations in Turkey seeking to build dialogue between different relevant actors on the Kurdish issue. We will continue to engage closely with Turkey to encourage the full protection of the fundamental rights and security of all peoples, regardless of their legitimate political affiliations, particularly in the areas of freedom of expression and assembly, press freedom and the treatment of detainees.”