Yesterday night the party leaders of HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party) were arrested in Turkey together with at least ten parliamentarians. At the same time AKP-led police forces attacked the party headquarters in Ankara. We do not accept these arrests as a legal process but as a fascist coup against democracy and human rights.
HDP is with its 6 million votes in the previous election the third largest party in Turkey. Those jailed tonight are elected politicians that represent hundreds of thousands of people around Turkey. To attack HDP is the equivalent of attacking the last living piece of the Turkish democracy. In his pursuit of authoritarianism Erdoğan is now closing the door on a peace process in Turkey.

At the same time as the nights raids against HDP they have also attacked the free canton Afrin in Northern Syria. These attacks do not occur in a vacuum. The Afrin canton is a part of the new Rojava federation that has developed into a real alternative for stability and peace in a country that has suffered from civil war for over five years!
Rojava today is a project initiated by the Kurdish peace movement and extends across the borders of several countries. The same movement that in Syria has distinguished itself in its resistance to Daesh and in West is called freedom fighters, the same movement is in Turkey called terrorists. HDP are the only ones in Turkey that have pointed out this absurdity and is the only party in the Turkish parliament that really worked for the resumption of the peace process aborted by Erdoğan. To jail the party’s elected leaders is also a strong signal that Erdoğan does not want to see a resumed peace process. Sweden’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström at taking office launched a feminist foreign policy. Words that are hollow today when Turkey’s only feminist and democratic party is under attack!

If one is serious about being for a democratic development in Turkey one must today also condemn the attacks during the night upon the democratic forces that still exist in Turkey.

It is time for all democratic forces to act against Turkey’s attacks on the Kurdish movement in Syria, Turkey and Iraq!

We demand that Sweden clearly distances itself and condemns the arrest of HDP’s parliamentarians!

We also demand that Sweden clearly distances itself and strongly condemns Turkey’s attacks on the Rojava federation in Northern Syria!

NCDK Sweden
Swedish Committee for Rojava
Bakur Committees

2016-11-04

This was translated by me from the Swedish language original.
Any errors should be presumed to have been introduced by me.