November in Northern Kurdistan

“We are the elected representatives of the people. We represent not our selves, but the masses of voters who elected us. Right now, I stand before you as a deputy, a member of the Parliament with immunity. It is not possible for me to allow the identity I represent and the will of my people to be insulted.”

 

The Co-chairs and Deputies of the HDP who were detained in a large-scale operation last night, made a joint statement at Court.

Friday, November 4, 2016 1:00 PM – NEWS DESK – ANF

 

When the people’s deputies were arrested

in Diyarbakir and Ankara,

when Demirta?, Aydo?an, Pir and Aris were arrested

when the deputy from Hakkâri, Selma Irmak,

the deputy from Mardin, Gülser Yildirim

when the Peoples’ Democratic Party deputies

were arrested

there were protests in Kobanî

(in the Federation of Northern Syria) – Rojava!

There were protests in Italy and Poland,

when HDP Co-chair and Van deputy, Figen Yüksekda?

when HDP Co-chair and Amed deputy, Selahattin Demirta?

were arrested

there were protests

in Naples and France,

in Brussels, in Oslo, in Denmark and Helsinki, Finland.

When the people’s deputies were arrested in Amed, in Sardin, in Ardana

when Amed MP Ziya Pir, Amed MP ?mam Ta?çier, Ankara MP Sirri Süreyya Önder, ?irnak MP Ferhat Encü were arrested,

when HDP Group Deputy Chair ?dris Baluken was detained in Ankara,

there were protests in Stavanger, Norway…

 

When the people’s deputies were arrested and beaten

there should have been protests, peaceful protests,

noisy, peaceful protests

in Recep Tayyip Erdo?an’s garden

in his front yard and in his kitchen

(please try not disturb his wife and children!)

in his hallway and in all the rooms of his house…

 

When the people’s deputies were arrested and beaten

when Democratic Regions’ Party Co-chair Sebahat Tuncel

was arrested and silenced in front of Diyarbakir Courthouse

(“We will win with resistance”, she chanted)

there should have been protests in his office, his garden shed,

his bathroom (just to get the message, just to get the news across:

the Kurdish people want to live in peace and justice)…

 

When the people protested in Istanbul’s Sisli district

and the police fired shots,

when HDP Group Deputy Chair, ?dris Baluken was arrested,

(?dris Baluken from ?irnak)

and MP Leyla Birlik from Amed, all arrested,

there were protests in Linz and Bielefeld, in Austria

in Sweden,

in Berlin and Moscow

in Paris and Cologne

all the people marched

all the people raised their voices

all the people made noise.

 

In Istanbul and Amed

in Cizre and Sardin

in ?i?li

they let the people know,

in Diyarbakir Courthouse the Deputies spoke:

“I refuse to be a walk-on extra in the judiciary show launched

because Erdo?an with all his dubious political past ordered so.

I will not answer any questions you ask, and I have no faith that

any act of judgment will be just.

Even me being brought here is unlawful.”

In Diyarbakir they let the world know:

“we will continue…”

When Leyla Birlik and Nursel Aydo?an were

sent to Sincan Prison in Ankara,

when HDP Deputy Abdullah Zeydan was arrested

when Ferhat Encü was sent to prison in Kocaeli,

when all this shit was going on

the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) said:

“This is where words end, all should rise up everywhere.”

When HDP MP Leyla Birlik was beaten in detention,

when the deputies were thrown into army helicopters

when the lawyers were beaten by the police outside the courthouse

DBP Co-chair Sebahat Tuncel and DTK Co-chair Leyla Güven said:

“Words have become obsolete. Today is the day to resist.

Today is the day to scream against fascism on every street.”

When the deputies’ offices were blockaded by police

when  the bomb went off in Diyarbakir:

” …today is the day to resist. Today is the day to protect our future.”

When the people were called on to “raise their voice against fascism”

when all the telephone lines were cut, the screens went dead

the voices silenced,

when the democratic will of more than 6 million people was ignored

when the deputies in court said:

” …whether we are in the parliament or in prison, you won’t be able to stop us from defending our ideology and fighting for these causes….”

then and only then

when all this has happened, when all this unfolds

then, and now,

President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an,

you should go hang

your head

in shame…

 

séamas carraher

November 5 – 6, 2016.

 

Notes & References:

 

Image: DBP (Democratic Regions’ Party) Co-chair Sebahat Tuncel – courtesy of Robin Ronî @em_bernadin

http://www.anfenglish.com/kurdistan/dbp-co-chair-tuncel-taken-to-anti-terror-branch

“Tuncel was battered as she chanted “We will win with resistance” during the detention.”

 

Statement in Court, Friday 4th November:

The Co-chairs and Deputies of the HDP who were detained in a large-scale operation last night, made a joint statement at Court.

The statement was translated by ANF English service:

http://www.anfenglish.com/news/full-text-of-the-joint-statement-of-detained-mps-of-the-hdp-at-court

 

Lawyers for HDP attacked by police at Diyarbak?r Courthouse:

https://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/lawyers-for-hdp-attacked-by-police-at-diyarbakir-courthouse

 

Charges offered by Turkish State

https://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/hdp-mps-detained-for-their-political-activity

 

HDP MP Leyla Birlik battered during detention:

https://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/hdp-mp-leyla-birlik-battered-during-detention

 

Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurdistan_Communities_Union

https://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/kck-this-is-where-words-end-all-should-rise-up-everywhere

 

Short Video of Protests:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOycpDMASS4

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