Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the opposition’s joint presidential candidate, held a meeting with the co-chairs of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar, in the Turkish Parliament. The meeting, which lasted for about an hour, ended with a joint statement emphasizing that the Turkish National Assembly is the solution for all problems, including the Kurdish issue.
During the press conference, Kilicdaroglu pledged a resolution to the Kurdish question in the country if elected as the 13th President of Turkey and stressed that every individual, regardless of their identity, belief or lifestyle, is valuable and must be respected.
“Aren’t you tired of fighting? Why do we fight when we can embrace and argue like civilized people? Why do we create camps in society? We stand for unity and togetherness. We are in favor of acting jointly for the solution of all the problems that exist for the development of this country. Politics should not create problems, it should solve existing problems,” Kilicdaroglu said.
Pervin Buldan explained that the purpose in holding the meeting in the parliament was to demonstrate that they were in favor of finding a democratic solution to the Kurdish issue under the parliamentary framework. Mithat Sancar said that they would release a detailed statement about the meeting in a few days.
Kilicdaroglu also criticized the government’s policy of not recognizing the Kurdish language officially, saying, “Why are you writing an unknown language for a language that has been spoken for thousands of years? The State should not apply double standards.”
Kilicdaroglu also emphasized the importance of an independent and impartial judiciary, the rule of law, a social state, and the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms. The meeting also covered the issues of climate change, the protection of the environment, and the importance of local governments. Kilicdaroglu expressed his opposition to the government’s practice of appointing trustees to municipalities.
Kilicdaroglu is hoping to gain the support of the HDP, which is seen as a kingmaker with a voter base of six million (around 11% to 13% of the popular vote in the last three parliamentary elections.)
Polls in Turkey suggest that neither the sitting president Recep Tayyip Erdogan nor Kilicdaroglu are likely to receive over 50% of the votes in the first round of the elections, and Kilicdaroglu needs the backing of HDP in order to avoid a runoff.
Source: Gerçek News
