A lawsuit was filed against 108 people, 18 of whom were imprisoned, including the former Co-Chairs of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and members of the Central Executive Board (MYK), citing the protests happened on 6-8 October 2014 against ISIS's attacks on Kobanê. The hearing of the Kobanê Case continues.

Former HDP Co-Chair Figen Yüksekdağ, politician Gülten Kışanak, and many imprisoned politicians and their lawyers attended the hearing.

 

'WE ARE PAYING OUR DEBT TO OUR PEOPLE'

 

Continuing his statements after the break, former HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş said that there was not a single piece of evidence against them in the indictment. Stating that they discovered that the case is opened as a result of a conspiracy, Demirtaş continued his words as follows: “If there was an independent and impartial judiciary in Turkey, these conspiracies would not have happened in the first place. We are defending right now because we owe it to our people. We do not do it because we believe and trust the judiciary. You've been writing everywhere to find evidence for three or four years, but you can't find anything. The strongest evidence you can find are the secret witnesses you find to escape punishment. You listened to one secret witness while we were away. I don't know why you did it, but you applied a different method. Because if these slanderers came out and said, ‘We slandered as a result of bargaining.’ you would say, ‘No, you are lying.’

 

THEY LEAVE AND RETURN CRYING

 

They want to destroy us. Brains have been castrated by official ideology. They are morally and ideologically destroyed. This society needs to be rehabilitated. The way to do this is peace. It takes years to recover from these traumas. Alternative readings need to be spread instead of the nonsense that is described as history and science in schools. The Kobane issue is also like this. A mentality that says a nation cannot exist without war rules the judiciary. Peace is a danger to it. Every time we say peace, it hits this marble wall and comes back. The general Turkish society does not know this. The most democratic says 'our doorman is also Kurd'. This is how they defends themself. They say: 'We have a Kurd bride and groom, we also have a Kurd friend.’ That's all they know. They don't make any effort to get to know the Kurds. Judges and prosecutors do not know the Kurds. The Kurdistan region, which is part of the country, is still a region of exile. Kurdistan is the other. It is a different place, they know that. Those who were exiled also leave crying. Then, after seeing the truth, they do not want to go back. But when they return, they come back crying. Turkish society and Turkish intellectuals are so far away from the Kurd reality. They do not know Kurd people and society. Those who judge the Kurds in Turkey generally do not know.

 

WE ARE FREE PEOPLE

 

You have no right to judge us from a historical perspective. We are trying to clarify why we are being treated unfairly. Kurds' hearts beat in peace and brotherhood. Kurdistan is the homeland of our ancestors and they cannot forget this and cannot throw away their homeland... What we call Kurdistan is not just Hakkari and Şırnak. It doesn't disappear when you try to destroy it. Denying the Kurds and Kurdistan means denying humanity. The Kurdish nation has a history. We would be dishonored if we accepted this denial. You know very well that anyone who denies this is a hypocrite. If we encounter someone who denies another person's identity, we feel ashamed of ourselves. If a black person is ashamed of his/her blackness and wants to be white, we feel sad. We feel ashamed. This is being imposed on us, on the Kurds. You need slaves. No, we are free people, we have a national anthem. How many Turkish know this?

 

WHAT TO FEAR?

 

Referring to Kobanê, Demirtaş stated that it is a Kurdish city. Demirtaş said: “Kobanê is also a town in Kurdistan. Since it is on the other side of the border, no one can see any enemies. Neither can the Republic of Turkey, of which we are citizens! We cannot allow that place to be massacred by ISIS barbarians. Recently, very clear tragedies took place in Shengal and Mosul. There were rapes and deaths. Then they surrounded Kobanê. When we look from here, you may see something else, but we see our brothers, sisters. We cannot play drums and have fun here while our brothers and sisters are in danger. We need to sensitize the world to the attacks of ISIS. This is what is seen as a threat. This is what is feared." 

 

WHY ARE THE KURDS NOT BROTHERS?

 

The main thing is citizenship, I did my military service and we pay our taxes well. We give more than anyone else. We give more than companies, and we do not evade taxes. We pay more taxes than even Turkish nationalists. So why, while ISIS is massacring a part of where my people live, does the state to which I pay taxes not show one millionth of the attention they show to Azerbaijan? I've been explaining why for days. It is nothing but Turkish racist delusions. I take my hat off to every Turk who explains to me how Azerbaijanis and I are one nation and two. But they will explain it according to the Constitution. And I would like them to explain how we cannot become one nation and two states with the Kurdistan Federal Region and Kobanê. If Turks are citizens, according to the constitution, everyone who is a citizen is a Turk, if only they are called Turks, then those who are not citizens are not Turks. Neither Azeris nor Turks in Germany are Turks. Once someone renounces citizenship, they cease to be a Turk. The Constitution says so. If the Turks in Azerbaijan are our brothers/sisters, why are the Kurds in Kobanê not our brothers/sisters?

 

CALL TO TURKISH INTELLECTUAL

 

Stating that the representatives and politicians of the Kurds are being tried under the name of the case, which is still called the Kobanê Case, Demirtaş said: “Look, the AKP Kurds are sending me news with their lawyers; They say that, ‘we respect his defense and bow down to his stance.’ We are not the ones who created this rupture. They are the ones who produce these policies. It is not up to the Turkish intellectual to be surprised by this. To understand this is to explain it. Turkish intellectuals can be Kemalist, socialist or conservative. thos We explain these in the courts. Otherwise, the problem is not solved.

 

WE PAY ON BEHALF OF THE SOLUTION

 

Kurd intellectuals should also defend the unity of the people in the four parts of Kurdistan, regardless of where they are in the diaspora, rather than being partial to political parties. As long as the Kurds achieve unity, peace and solution can only be achieved. Kurds fighting each other will only harm the Kurds and cause the issue to grow. The Kurd and Turkish politicians should also pay attention to this. Unity between The Kurd and Turkish intellectuals creates a solution. Therefore, this is what we want to say and the message we give in these defenses. We are here paying these prices for a solution. We gave and continue to provide the greatest support to anyone who wants to find a solution from here. We give even if we are in prison. We are faced with a case that consists of lies just to produce the truth.

 

I AM HERE TO DO POLITICS

 

The prosecutor also stated that I visited Kobanê on the instructions of the organization, citing a witness. Let's see how the newspapers reported it. For example, let's look at Milliyet newspaper. The newspaper described it as 'The day of people joining hands'. It brought peace to the fore. Years later, you may distort the message of peace given by a Kurd politician and ask what kind of a message of war it is. This is a lie, this is wrong. You will not see war orders in the history of these politicians. I said it before; I repeat very clearly; They are political fraudsters who engages in politics by relying on weapons. What they need to do is to go and get the gun and join the armed struggle. If they believe this, they should do it. Anything else is political fraud. But you can carry out the policy of ensuring peace between warring and conflicting forces. You can fight this. But do nothing, put your salary in your pocket, put your passport in your pocket, do not engage in political struggle, regardless of the party you belong to, and do not strive for it, and set your sights on the mountain. Sorry, it's political fraud. We are here to do politics.

 

THE STATE SENDS WITH WHAT IT DOES

 

This is our job. Otherwise, it would be immoral. My brother is in the mountains…it is known. They didn't let him do politics; he went to the mountains. I am another child of the same family who chose democratic politics. My mother wants her son alive. No matter what anyone says. I'm sorry if a politician gets a salary by relying on my brother... It's a betrayal to my mother. My mother wants a solution. The mother of the police officer in the mountain also wants a solution. Which parent wants his son's funeral? If you engage in politics by relying on weapons, you will be morally collapsed. This is our understanding of politics. They say, ‘Look, the hill of martyrs will see more martyrs.’ While who feed on grudges are patriots, nationalists, we are terrorists. Those who lose faith in politics go to the mountains. You are the ones who caused this. We can't stop this either. We do not send people to the mountains. Senders’ waist. Those who make these applications. They send young people to the mountains. I didn't send my brother away. Neither the PKK. The state itself sent it with their actions. There is no slander they haven't made. There is no plot left that they haven't slandered or plotted against him.

 

YOUNG PEOPLE SHOULD NOT SHOOT AT EACH OTHER

 

No parent wants their child to be face to with death. I want my brother and other children and young people to come down from the mountain. What will I do? You are telling me, ‘Call for surrender’ Here you go, do it. The government does it every day. If they surrendered, would they wait for my call? We want there to be a solution. We propose an honorable way and method, we propose peace. There shouldn't be a police station on the mountain. Young people should not shoot at each other. Both Kurds and Turks should fight against each other in democratic politics. Democratic autonomy is like that, and so is our party. As we try to make this bigger, the state makes going to the mountains bigger. I have always invited young people to politics. I did not send anyone to the mountains, nor did I encourage them.

 

COME AND DO POLITICS

 

But I don't know how many people were sent to the mountains just by the prosecutors who tried me. If even one person is gone, the prosecutor is guilty. If the prosecutor is to be tried for aiding and abetting, let the prosecutor be tried. They are the ones who send young people to the mountains. Are those who see us being tried innocently here for 7 years not impressed at all? They are the one who support PKK. Don't get me wrong, I still invite young people to politics. Come and do politics in the DEM Party. I don't know how many people will pay attention.

 

LET'S SIT AROUND A TABLE AND TALK

 

Our solution proposal is clear and public. Let's sit around a table and talk. We need to sit down and talk about where we went wrong and how we can make amends. If the question is who to talk to, this is completely unnecessary. There are representatives of the Kurds. How can you not talk to the representatives of a whole people while discussing their issues? That's why we say Abdullah Öcalan. He called many times. Even during the Imrali process alone, there were more than ten official contacts and initiatives. Should we give up on these? It doesn't work, shall we say, let's keep shooting each other? No. We have to propose a solution. There is no 'love it or leave it'. 'If you are a Turk, brag, if you are not, swear allegiance' is not possible. These are not options. The state must offer an option based on the option we offer. Without hiding it, we wholeheartedly present our proposal to the people and their state - it could not be a Kurdish state- with whom we have lived together for a thousand years.

 

A ROAD MAP SHOULD BE PREPARED

 

Our call is this; We paid these prices for the solution. Alevis, socialists, Kemalists, Kurds, conservatives and, as a separate topic, women of this country, which is in the mainstream of Turkey, should come together. They can discuss where we came from and where we are going and draw a road map, independent of sterile alliances such as electoral alliances. Abdullah Öcalan also considers the outcome of this. This work leads to permanent peace. Participation of Öcalan in the process also develops. All different segments of Turkey should come together around a table. They must bring their own truth to the table. Let them discuss for a few days how we can create a common road map with common sense. Why do you put the blame on 20-25 year old young people in Hakkari Çukurca? Why are you blaming it on my brother? The job of intellectuals and politics is not to rely on weapons. His job is to produce solutions.

 

EVERYONE SHOULD STOP AND THINK

 

This is not a sacrifice either. It would be a humane, sensitive attitude. I hope that the stance we are trying to put forward through this case will cause everyone to stop and think once again in these difficult days. This does not work with isolation and oppression. I will speak for the last time on Monday. Maybe we won't talk for years. Be assured, even if you punish us for a million years, there will be no change in these truths. All these truths are sociological truths. As we said, we defend ourselves to the public, not to you. You are not the addressee anyway.”

 

Upon Demirtaş's request, the court postponed the hearing until 10:00 tomorrow. The court also shared that it will conduct a detention review tomorrow.