After leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (Turkish: Halkların Demokratik Partisi, Kurdish: Partiya Demokratik has Gelan, HDP) of Turkey were arrested and jailed Friday morning Garo Paylan, Armenian member of the Turkish Parliament of that party, issued a warning on his Twitter account saying that the events in Turkey recalled April 24, 1915.
“We live in 1915, is April 24!” Tweeted Garo Paylan after the leaders of the main pro-Kurdish party in Turkey have been remanded in custody, hours after their arrest by the authorities, who seem to take a new step in the purges carried out in all directions from the aborted putsch of July
The arrest of the co-chairs of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtaş and Mrs Figen Yüksekdag, and eleven other members of that party, provoked indignant reactions in the West, whose relations with Turkey are already strained due alleged violations of freedoms to power of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ..
“The Turkish police raided the house in Ankara Selahattin Demirtaş and home Figen Yüksekdağ in Diyarbakir said the party’s lawyers.
The decision to place the two party leaders, and three others arrested elected in custody was taken in the afternoon by a court in Diyarbakir, in the context of “terrorism” investigation related to the PKK, according to the pro-government agency Anadolu.
The HDP second opposition party in Turkey, said in a statement that the arrests marked “the end of democracy” in the country.
The head of European diplomacy, Federica Mogherini, was known for its hand “extremely worried” and said it would convene a meeting of EU ambassadors in Ankara. Berlin said it had summoned the Turkish charge d’affaires and the spokesman of Chancellor Angela Merkel ruled the arrests “highly alarming”.
Among the arrested members included, besides the two leaders, party heavyweights like Baluken Idris, president of the parliamentary group HDP, also formally remanded in custody.
“This is a coup against the HDP is a coup against pluralism, against diversity, against equality,” said Garo Paylan, a member of HDP, at a conference Press the Istanbul headquarters of the party.
“It slams the door of Parliament to the nose, it means ignoring the vote of six million people, ignore the democratic demand of the people, their hope for a peaceful future,” added his colleague Huda Kaya.
“The HDP calls on the international community to react against the coup Erdogan,” the party said on Twitter, referring to President Tayyip Erdogan.
In the wake of government repression against the HDP, the Armenian National Committee of America has launched a campaign asking supporters to write letters urging the US secretary of state to act decisively against the attempt to Erdogan to silence the last remaining democratic forces in Turkey.
“The United States should publicly and forcefully protest against the undemocratic repression of Turkey and demand the release of officials HDP illegally imprisoned by the Erdogan regime. We must break with the policy of appeasement that has failed for too long in US policy against Turkey, allowing the Ankara lobbyists army compromise the interests of our country and the values of our country, “said the general director of ANCA Aram Hamparian.
The United States is “deeply troubled” by the detention in Turkey of pro-Kurdish politicians and elected officials, said for his part Friday on Twitter, Tom Malinowski, in charge of human rights at the State Department.
“When democracies are attacking elected officials, they have a duty to justify their actions and to maintain confidence in the judicial system,” wrote Malinowski, on the social network.
In France the Communists senators have called for a parliamentary debate “soon” next week on the situation in Turkey after the arrest on the night of leaders and members of the main pro-Kurdish party in this country, the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP).
“It is urgent that a debate be held next week in Parliament on the worrying situation in Turkey,” write the senators of the Communist group, Republican and Citizen (CRC), adding that “respect for human rights not not be violated in the name of geopolitical interests. “
CRC group “supports seamless to all parliamentarians arrested and requires that France so his silence over the repeated attacks of the Turkish government towards democratic and civic forces,” the statement said.
He also asked the hearing by the High Assembly of Selahattin Demirtaş, co-chairman of the HDP and Istanbul deputy, arrested with another party leader, Ms Figen Yüksekdag, and at least nine other MPs.
This “slippage continues from Turkey to an authoritarian state after lifting the arbitrary and unfounded the parliamentary immunity of fifty of the fifty-nine members of HDP in May, the organization of a purge following the attempted coup of 15 July and the administrative closure of 160 Turkish media, “the statement said.
The national secretary of the PCF Pierre Laurent then expressed his “anger” and its “strong indignation” saying that with these arrests, “Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan takes another step in the establishment of the dictatorship” . He called for “amplify the campaign StopErdogan + #! +”.
For the Socialist Party, the arrest of two of HDP co-chairs, “two democratically elected and respected personalities in Turkey,” “is a shock.”
“The fight against terrorism and against the attempts of political destabilization can not justify any violations of freedoms,” the party said in a statement, noting that “this escalation” raises its “deep concern”.
The party calls on the Turkish authorities to “precisely justify their accusations” against those responsible for the HDP and called “European and international authorities to step up their pressure on Turkey to remain faithful to the principles and values of the European Convention on Human of Man “.
Berlin said it had summoned the Turkish charge d’affaires, and the spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel ruled the arrests “highly alarming”.
In Paris, the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Romain Nadal said that the arrest of HDP elected aroused “great concern.”
In a text written by hand read by one of his lawyers, Mr Demirtas said he was the victim of a “civil blow by the government and the palace.”
The words “We will certainly win,” he launched in Turkey at the time of his arrest were widely on Twitter under the hasthtag #MutlakaKazanacagiz.
Stéphane © armenews.co