Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Spokesperson Günay Kubilay addressed the reporters at the party headquarters today (October 25) and commented on the recent developments in Turkey and northern Syria.

 

Some highlights from his speech were as follows:

 

"Since August 19, trustees have been appointed to our 12 municipalities, three of which are metropolitan municipalities. Metropolitan Municipalities of Diyarbakır, Mardin and Van and Municipalities of Erciş, Hakkari, Yüksekova, Kulp, Kayapınar, Bismil, Kocaköy, Karayazı and Nusaybin are now besieged and blockaded by a trustee regime.

 

"I would like to reiterate that shortly after March 31, certificates of election of our six so-mayors were revoked because they had been dismissed from public service by a statutory decree and candidates of the AKP, who received less than 20 percent of the votes, have been appointed in their place.

 

"Our 20 municipal council members and seven provincial council members have been removed from office under various pretexts and HDP's municipal council members, who were in the majority, have now become a minority.

 

"The arrest of our Amed (Diyarbakır) Co-Mayor Selçuk Mızraklı shows that the policy of taking political hostages continues. The picture served [to the media] is the picture of the shackles put on the will of the Kurdish people. This picture is the picture of a black mark beside the name of the government and a picture of political shame.

 

"The protests, events and struggle that we have been waging through our MPs for three days will intensify and continue in different forms.

 

"Sochi agreement [between Turkey and Russia] is a positive development primarily because it stopped the war and prevented the massacre of civilians with the most modern weapons. However, we still do not know what compromises were made or what inhuman pledges were given for this agreement. Let's ask a simple question: What have you won? Nothing...

 

"In a country where an economic crisis, unemployment, poverty and misery prevail, overt and covert price increases rain down on people, what does the government say to people, other than 'I will crush, sweep, smash, destroy'?

 

"You have forced hundreds of thousands of people to leave the land where they were born and raised, you have orphaned several children, you have violated international law, you have committed a war crime.

 

"When it comes to the demographic change, it is a violation of the 4th Geneva Agreement that I am holding in my hand.

 

"The transfer by the occupying power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies, or the deportation or transfer of all or parts of the population of the occupied territory within or outside this territory constitutes a war crime according to the Article 8 of the Rome Statute.

 

"According to a report by Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 79 civilians lost their lives from October 9 to 17. In an official statement, Syrian Democratic Council indicated that 235 civilians have lost their lives so far.

 

"In statements made after Erdoğan-Putin meeting, Putin said, 'A comprehensive dialogue should be started between Kurds and Syria in north-east Syria.' By stating 'Only in this way can the rights of Kurds, who are a part of multinational people of Syria, be defended', he also warned Assad regime in a sense.

 

"In multinational, multireligious, multi-identity Syria, a constitutional solution excluding the Kurds will not be democratic and, in this way, the Kurdish question persisting in Syria throughout history will pass down to next generations."