Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticized the opposition coalition led by the Republican People’s Party (CHP) of holding »common» positions with the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which Ankara accuses of maintaining ties with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The HDP announced Wednesday that it will not field a candidate of its own in the May 14 presidential elections, although it did not clarify whether it will back CHP leader Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, the unity candidate of a six-party coalition seeking to oust Erdogan from power.
»The HDP has always been the seventh partner at this table, from the very beginning,» said Erdogan, who noted that »the CHP and the HDP have many things in common. »They should explain it to the nation. The HDP is the same as the PKK and the People’s Protection Units (YPG) — a Kurdish-Syrian militia,» he argued.
»We have always said this. What is the place of the CHP in this equation? Let people think about it,» he said, before pointing out that the HDP has »no agenda» other than »following instructions from Kandil,» a mountainous area in Iraq where the PKK has numerous bases.
In this regard, he stressed in an interview with the Turkish TV channel NTV that »this is the HDP at the table of six» and stated that »the terrorist leaders in Kandil already say that this table gives them hope» and that they consider Kiliçdaroglu as »a promising candidate».
»The HDP has clearly said that it wants its demands met in exchange for its support. Kandil determines what those demands are. The nation sees the game they are playing and I hope my dear nation will teach the necessary lessons on May 14,» the Turkish president concluded.
HDP co-chairwoman Pervin Buldan said Wednesday after announcing the party’s decision that »there are less than two months left before one of the most crucial elections in Turkey’s history» and added that the country »is going through a historic moment that will determine the future of the country and society».
The pro-Kurdish party has been the target of a crackdown since the 2015 collapse of the peace process between the Turkish government and the PKK, including dozens of arrests and convictions for alleged support for terrorism, something rejected by the HDP, which denounces political persecution.
Erdogan, who has already confirmed that he will run for re-election, is behind Kiliçdaroglu, backed by a coalition of opposition parties, according to several polls. The president could face his biggest challenge at the polls after two decades at the helm as prime minister and then president.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
