HAKKARİ - HDP workers who have been working in Kurdish political parties for years stated that they will not have their party shut down and they will come back stronger if they insist on banning the party, adding, "They can not break the will for the fight in us."

 

Turkey have been banning Kurdish parties since 1990. Following the closure of the Democratic Society Party (DTP) 12 years ago, today, Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) is at risk of being banned.  The Constitutional Court (AYM) accepted the 843-page HDP indictment prepared by the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals Bekir Şahin demanding a political ban on 451 people. The decision, which was met with reaction from many parts of the society, especially the opposition parties, was evaluated by those who have been working in Kurdish political parties for years in Yüksekova district of Hakkari.

 

THEY CAN NOT SHUT US DOWN

 

Samiyettin Renda (56), who stated that the country's problems could not be solved by closing the party, reminded that many Kurdish parties were closed before. Despite this, Renda stated that they came back growing every time, and drew attention to the fact that the public would not remain silent against the closure of their party. Renda said, “Even if HDP is closed, the hearts of 6 million people are with their parties. HDP is not just a building. Even though they try to keep the people away from the HDP, the hearts of millions of people are with us. They cannot stop the struggle in the hearts of the Kurdish people.”

 

EMPHASIS ON UNITY 

 

Emphasizing that it is wrong to close down a party no matter how many vote it gets, Emin Bulgan (82) said the HDP will come back stronger if it is closed down. Bulgan said: "HDP is not a small party. HDP has a key role in Turkey and have been getting the votes of millions. It's the third biggest party in Turkey. We must stand with our party and never take a step back. It's time for unity. Democracy is falling apart since the day AKP came to power. The only thing they have left is their hatred for the HDP. They think that their hostile attitude will get votes for them. They are very wrong. Their hostile policy against the HDP will be their end."

 

'WE ARE HOLDING HARD'

 

Underlining that HDP is not just 6 million voters, Osman Arslan (72) said: "They refer to Kurds as their brothers when its convenient for them. Being brothers and sisters does not give anyone the right to cheat people off their rights. If they close down our party, we will open a new one. Closing down parties is not a solution. They closed down dozens of our parties. We came back stronger. We have thousands in prisons, thousands exiled. But we are holding hard. We will continue this fight as long as we live. Our youth will continue in our path."