Selahattin Demirtaş, the imprisoned former co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), has called for national unity, courage, and wisdom in the face of escalating conflict in the Middle East. In a written statement shared Monday on social media, Demirtaş warned against both foreign interventions and deepening domestic divisions.
Demirtaş condemned recent military operations targeting Iran, describing them as part of ongoing imperialist designs on the region. While he criticized the Iranian regime as oppressive and undemocratic, he firmly opposed external military interference. “No justification can be found for imperialist intervention,” he wrote, urging a return to diplomacy and respect for regional peace.
He warned that foreign involvement would continue until great-power geopolitical objectives are achieved and called on Turkey to stand for peace on principle — not as a tool of short-term strategy.
Turning to domestic affairs, Demirtaş called for immediate reforms to bolster justice and social cohesion. He urged completion of the disarmament process launched by Abdullah Öcalan’s February 27 appeal for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to lay down arms and dissolve, stressing that it must proceed “without delay, provocation, or obstruction.”
Demirtaş also denounced what he described as politically motivated judicial harassment, warning that such practices undermine the rule of law and national unity. He called for the release of elected officials and bureaucrats held in pretrial detention, pointing out that Turkish law provides for their trials to proceed without imprisonment.
“We must not insist on attitudes that exclude or divide society while the Middle East burns,” Demirtaş said. “National unity and solidarity should encircle Turkey — not the ruling party alone. Defending the homeland is not the same as defending the government.”
He urged President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to form a cross-party working group in parliament to craft a shared domestic and foreign policy roadmap, especially in light of growing regional instability.
Demirtaş concluded with a call for coexistence and reconciliation: “This storm will eventually pass, and we, as the ancient peoples of these lands, will live here together in equality and freedom.”
Detained since 2016 on charges widely seen as politically driven, Demirtaş remains a symbol of opposition resilience. The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly ordered his release, rulings Ankara continues to defy.
