HDP congress reelects Demirtas, Yuksekdag as co-chairs

ANKARA, Turkey (K24) - Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) re-elected Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag as co-chairs at the parties' convention held in Ankara, on January 24.

Yuksekdag and Demirtas are HDP co-chairs since the party's first convention in June 2014. With 59 members of parliament, HDP is the third largest bloc in the Turkish parliament.

During his convention speech, Demirtas reiterated his parties' inclusive, tolerant messages for people of diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, proclaiming his party does not only belong to the Kurds.

"We are a party of Turks, Armenians, Georgians and Azeris, too. Nor are we a religious party. People from all faiths and sects are welcome," said Demirtas.

Stating his party's commitment to gender equality, Demirtas rejected the notion of an all-male political party, highlighting responsibilities many women undertake in HDP.

Demirtas welcomed the invitation by the Speaker of Parliament Ismail Kahraman to join the parliamentary commission to draft a new constitution but spoke cautiously about the commission's prospects at success.

“We thank Mr. Speaker, but when we [some activist Kurds] mention autonomy, is there any guarantee that no investigations will be launched against us?" asked Demirtas, a question alluding to the December probe the Diyarbakir prosecutor's office opened against him for earlier remarks on Kurdish self-rule.

Figen Yuksekdag, for her part, slammed the ruling Justice Development Party (AKP) and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for their push toward an executive presidency in Turkey.

HDP has consistently opposed any proposals to grant more powers to the president--and ceremonial post in the country.

"We will not allow you to become president" was the main HDP motto during the previous two elections in June and November 2015.

Yuksekdag stated that the government "is spending all its energy on establishing a despotism," adding that "we [HDP] do not want a dictatorship in our country. No single person can run Turkey. Centralized power [in Ankara] should become regionalized [or federalized]," explained the HDP co-chair.

A K24 correspondent at the convention reported that out of 1,020 HDP delegates only 626 were present. The convention also elected new members to the party council. K24 Ankara reported that no other candidates ran against Demirtas or Yuksekdag.

Representatives of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Kurdistan Patriotic Union (PUK) and Goran (Change Movement) of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq attended the convention.

Osman Baydemir, former mayor of the de facto Kurdish capital of Diyarbakir and HDP parliamentarian, told K24 in a live interview during the convention that his party was working to bring about peace and freedom for the Kurdish people.

Baydemir said that there are two choices facing the people of Kurdistan: "either freedom and peace during a time when maps become redrawn in the Middle East; or cultural assimilation, genocide, denial of identity and political repression for another century."

It is noteworthy that Socialists and Democrats--the second largest political group in the European Parliament--were also attendees at the convention.

Reporting by Nevin Diri and Adnan Gerger in Ankara; Editing by Benjamin Kweskin