HDP Vice Co-Chair: "Euphrates Shield" is a Move Against the Kurds and Maybe We will End with an Open Conflict (EXCLUSIVE)

• 08.29.2016, 18:56
•  Region,  Near East,  World,  Interview

bingolhaberler.com

“Armedia” IAA presents an exclusive interview with Hişyar Özsoy, vice co-chair of Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Turkey and Bingol Deputy, on the current situation of Kurds in Turkey and "Euphrates Shield" operation in Syria.  

- What can you say about the current situation of Kurds in Turkey? Has the policy of the Turkish authorities towards the Kurds changed after the coup attempt?

- The same repression goes on now. Although after the coup attempt it is a crisis situation in Turkey, it could have been used as an opportunity to resume the peace process with the Kurdish movement. Unfortunately, the government is continuing the aggressive policy waging a war against Kurds both inside Turkey and in Syria.

 Representatives of Parliament, municipalities, civil society, NGOs, media – all of them are under the pressure of the Turkish government. For example, a couple of days ago Kurdish daily newspaper Ozgur Gundem was banned in Turkey. So there is a lot of repression, but when you look at the history of the Kurds in Turkey over the last 100 years – there is both repression and resistance. I think Kurds have accumulated enough knowledge and experience to overcome the situation and survive.

- Several days ago Turkey started "Euphrates Shield" operation in Syria. What do you think, why Turkey started it right now and what developments to expect? 

- They are saying they are fighting the ISIS, but everybody knows that the main target is the Kurds. They are trying to prevent Kurdish gains in Syria. This timing is crucial, because Kurds together with Syrian Democratic forces were able to defeat ISIS and capture the city Manbij. It was a crucial city for ISIS. After Kurds captured it, they became very close to the town of Jerablus, which is next to Kobani. So before Kurds could reach there, Turkish forces intervened. That is why we see this operation in Syria not as an attempt to rescue Jerablus from the ISIS, but to rescue ISIS from the Kurds and the Syrian Democratic forces. ISIS in fact did not fight, they just left the city to the Turkish army. They went down to al-Bab. So it was a kind of a deal already made and mainly it was a move against the Kurds, not against the ISIS.

As for the further developments, it is difficult to say. Turks and Kurds are next to each other and there is a great tension. Turkey has already sent tanks to the border with Kobani – a kind of putting pressure on the Kurds and threatening them, and Kurds are waiting on the border, looking at the tanks. Who knows, maybe we will end with an open conflict. We hope that this will not happen, but the Turkish state is very aggressive and they can really go beyond the limits.

-  What is the official position of HDP on all this? 

-  Of course, we strongly oppose to this, we say that Turkey should develop friendly relations with the Kurds. There was a peace process between 2013 and 2015, but Turkey suspended this peace process, which also complicated the issue with Syria and the Kurds there. Now the Kurdish issue in Syria and Turkey are truly intertwined. They were not the same things. That is why Turkey should either fight Kurds both in Syria and Turkey, or Turkey should make its mind and start a peace process with the Kurds on either sides on the Turkish-Syrian border. So, our position is that instead of making war with Kurds they should make peace with the Kurds, otherwise, if they continue with this aggressive mood and policy, there would be resistance against that.