Why has HDP refused to sign the joint declaration condemning US sanctions?

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After the US imposed a series of sanctions on Turkey over its purchase of the S-400 air defense system from Russia, four political parties in Turkey's Parliament signed a joint declaration condemning the move.

While the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), its ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and its ally İYİ Party signed the joint declaration yesterday (December 15), the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) refused to sign it.

Shortly after this decision, HDP Group Deputy Chairs Meral Danış Beştaş and Saruhan Oluç have released a statement entitled "The reason we have refused to sign the joint parliamentary declaration on US sanctions."

"The way to act against sanctions is not by aligning with the government's policies, which are pushing the country towards an abyss, but by standing up against those very policies and showing our peoples an alternative way out," the statement of party has underlined.

The full statement of the HDP is as follows:

'We don't find it sincere or rational'

"As the HDP, we took a stance against Turkey's S-400 missile agreement with Russia from the first day on.

"We also stated that the AKP government's inconsistent approach, which reduces diplomacy and bilateral relations with the United States to personal relations with US President Trump was unsustainable.

"Associated with the Syria War and the bargaining on Afrin, the S-400 agreement cannot be regarded as a simple military trade agreement.

"We do not find it sincere and rational to act as if the imposition of CAATSA [Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act] sanctions, which have been applied automatically since 2017 to countries that purchase military equipment from Russia, is an unexpected development.

'AKP is responsible for the sanctions'

"The AKP government, which has isolated Turkey in the international arena, is responsible for these sanctions. Had even a fraction of our warnings been heeded, Turkey would not find itself where it is now. The AKP government must seriously think about its wrong policies. Apparently, the US government has opted for some of the lightest of the 12 CAATSA sanctions and limited them to some defence industry officials for now. 

"If the S-400 crisis is not tackled, the sanctions may expand beyond the current limits and reach a level that could economically devastate the peoples of Turkey, who already face a tough challenge. It is this probable development in the near future that we really need to prevent.

'A militarist game around terrible policies'

"For years we have been criticizing the AKP government's policies and we have strived to prevent Turkey from facing such a situation. We maintain the same attitude today.

"The way to act against sanctions is not by aligning with the government's policies, which are pushing the country towards an abyss, but by standing up against those very policies and showing our peoples an alternative way out.

"We see the debates around the S-400, F-35, CAATSA as a militarist game taking shape around the terrible policies of the government and we once again say that we will not take part in this game." (EKN/SD)