‘Those who don’t oppose policies of war are now attacking refugees’

* Photo: HDP Twitter account

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Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Mithat Sancar visited Turkey's Kurdish-majority eastern province of Ağrı and its districts yesterday (July 28) as part of the HDP's program of "We are from the HDP, we are everywhere." Having visited the shopkeepers in Ağrı, Sancar then went to the Patnos district and attended the meeting with people.

Making a speech at the meeting, Sancar called on the people of the region to get vaccinated against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19):

"We have to be healthy in both our struggle and daily life. Vaccination is a serious issue. There might be those who want to mislead you. Look, the pandemic is threatening the entire humanity. However, there has been a sharp increase in the number of cases in most of our provinces, including Ağrı and Patnos. This makes us concerned, this makes us sad.

"No matter what anyone says, definitely get vaccinated. The state has a duty. It is obliged to offer an adequate number of vaccines."

'Healthcare service in mother language is a right'

Sancar has noted that HDP members go from village to village one by one, telling people in their mother language why they should be vaccinated.

"The state has to offer healthcare services in mother language," Sancar has emphasized, adding, "The state has to offer health services in peoples' mother languages: If the people of a village speak Kurdish, then it must be in Kurdish; if people speak the Laz language in a village, then the health services must be in the Laz language. Education in mother language is a sacred right. Similarly, healthcare in mother language is also a sacred right. Everyone must recognize this."

'HDP will give the decisions demanded by people'

Further in his speech, Sancar has also talked about the pressures on the HDP and the closure case filed against the party:

"'What will the HDP do in the elections,' we are asked. We answer that we will first ask the people. We will be against all types of attempts to keep this order alive. We will primarily wage our struggle against this government, but we will give the people's answer to the attempts that want to reestablish and sustain this order. We, as the HDP, will go to the people, we will walk on the path desired by the people, we will go in the direction shown us by the people, we will make the decisions demanded by the people."

'Changing the government is not our sole aim'

Underlining that changing the ruling party is not the HDP's sole aim, HDP Co-Chair Sancar has said: "Yes, we will change the government, they know that we are strong enough to do this. We showed it on June 7 and then, at the local elections. We will show it again.

"No matter what they do, they will be unable to prevent the HDP from showing its strength. No one should have any doubts about this, no one should fall into despair or pessimism. With your support and will, we, as the HDP, came up as a power feeding into the future of Turkey, we will use this power to the end. We will show this to everyone in the first elections."

Kurdî alliance to be brought to the widest extent

Sancar has noted that they aim to establish the widest possible alliance of democracy for the resolution of the Kurdish question.

"We will extend our alliances in Turkey's west and in the Kurdish region," HDP Co-Chair Mithat Sancar has said, underlining that the HDP "will bring the Kurdî alliance to the widest possible extent."

He has added, "We will do whatever we can to walk alongside the democrats and the ones who are against injustice in Turkey. No one should mistake what I say for a call to parties. We are not troubled with this or that alliance. Our debate is not on this or that candidate. We are after democracy, equality, freedom and peace, we are waging a struggle for this."

"At the elections or not, the aim of our struggle is this everytime and everywhere," Mithat Sancar has added.

'Those who do not oppose war attack refugees'

Concluding his remarks, Sancar has also protested the escalating racist attacks on refugees in Turkey and the discriminatory remarks of Bolu Provincial Mayor Tanju Özcan from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), who has recently announced that a 10-fold increase will be introduced to the water bills and solid waste taxes of foreign nationals:

"Those who do not oppose policies of war, those who escalate the war, those who force a lack of solution to the Kurdish question are carrying out degrading and despicable attacks against Syrian migrants and refugees. We say it again: Every oppressed person is our brother and sister. Whoever has to leave one's country has done it because of the war. The real responsible parties are the ones who pick these wars and support these wars.

"This government is responsible for the war in Syria as well as the other fires in the region, but there are several opposition parties that stay silent to or support it. Now, a mayor comes up and says, 'I will cut the water of migrants, I will hike the prices by 10 times.' We will stand up against atrocity and injustice inflicted on everyone and everywhere." (KÖ/SD)