ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (#HDP#) is holding rallies in the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir (#Amed#) on Saturday and in Istanbul the next day, protesting against Turkey’s “wars and exploitations.”
Turkey often targets Kurdish fighters at home and inside the Kurdistan Region, Iraq and Syria in the framework of its so-called anti-terrorism war. The country’s military is also involved in other regional conflicts. This war policy has been condemned by the HDP and some other opposition parties in Turkey.
The HDP announced on July 31 that it was holding two rallies in Amed and Istanbul on Saturday and Sunday at 5pm local time. Using the slogan “We have the solution: no to wars and exploitations,” the HDP wants the Turkish government to change its war policy which it claims has negatively impacted on the lives of Turkish citizens as inflation continues to rise.
HDP officials and parliamentarians have been campaigning for both rallies in the past week. The party’s co-chair, Pervin Buldan, is expected to attend the rally in Amed.
The pro-Kurdish party has been subjected to Turkish government’s crackdowns dozens of times. Thousands of its officials, parliamentarians and members have been jailed in recent years for terror related charges, including former co-chairs, Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag.
A large number of the party’s mayors have been removed from their positions and replaced by pro-government trustees. Some of the mayors have been imprisoned as well.[1]