The Turkish president says that the population will “teach the necessary lessons” in the elections on May 14
March 23 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticized the opposition coalition led by the Republican People’s Party (CHP) for maintaining “common” positions with the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), which Ankara accuses of maintaining ties with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The HDP announced on Wednesday that it would not field a candidate of its own in the May 14 presidential election, although it did not say whether it would back CHP leader Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, the unity candidate of a six-party coalition seeking to oust Erdogan from power. .
“The HDP has always been the seventh partner at this table, from the beginning,” Erdogan said, noting that “the CHP and the HDP have many things in common. “They must explain it to the nation. The HDP is the same as the PKK and the People’s Protection Units (YPG) — a Syrian-Kurdish militia — “, he has argued.
“We have always said this. What is the place of the CHP in this equation? Let people think about it,” he said, before noting that the HDP “has no other agenda” than “following the instructions of Kandil”, an area mountainous area in Iraq where the PKK have numerous bases.
In this sense, he stressed in an interview with the Turkish television channel NTV that “this is the HDP at the table for six” and he stated that “the terrorist leaders in Kandil already say that this table gives them hope” and that they regard Kiliçdaroglu as “a promising candidate”.
“The HDP has made it clear that they want their demands met in exchange for their support. Kandil determines what those demands are. The nation sees the game they are playing and I hope my beloved nation teaches the necessary lessons on May 14,” the Turkish president has settled.
HDP co-chair Pervin Buldan said Wednesday after announcing the party’s decision that “there are less than two months left for one of the most crucial elections in Turkey’s history,” adding that the country “is going through a historic moment that will determine the future of the country and society”.
The pro-Kurdish party has been the target of a campaign of repression since the collapse in 2015 of the peace process between the Turkish government and the PKK, including dozens of arrests and convictions for alleged support for terrorism, something rejected by the HDP, which denounces persecution. policy.
Erdogan, who has already confirmed that he will run for re-election, ranks behind Kiliçdaroglu, who is backed by a coalition of opposition parties, according to several polls. The president could face the biggest challenge from him at the polls after two decades at the helm of the country as prime minister and then as president.
