Kurdish national unity needs to be established ASAP

[Anthea]

HDP’s Demirtaş: The AKP is doomed to lose

Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtaş is using all possible means within the limited conditions offered by Edirne prison where he is held for over 18 months.

Demirtaş has sent new tweets out to voters on Sunday. The messages address various issues.

“They won the 16 April referendum, by throwing us in prison. Now, on 24 June they keep me in jail to win. For this, they are putting pressure on all courts including the Constitutional Court”.

“Some judges, who have looked at my files, have come to the point of resigning, or even suicide, because of the pressures they see. Despite everything, I know there are a lot of honorable and brave judges”.

“This persecution will end on 24 June. The supremacy of law and independence of the judiciary will be ensured, and judges will also work in an environment of fair jurisdiction. As long as you give 1 vote to HDP and 1 vote to Demirtaş”.

“It became clear that the AKP will lose the election. That's why they are targeting me in a more aggressive way. Even supporting circles cannot save the situation anymore”.

“Everyone should get ready for a new administration, a democratic future”.

“If HDP overcomes the threshold, Turkey will breath. I believe I will be contesting in the second round in the presidential election. In the second round we will provide the broadest democracy alliance and we will present a strong alternative to our people. This alliance will open way to a Nations Alliance. We will definitively succeed”.

[Anthea]

HDP report: Over 200 detentions, 57 attacks in 45 days

In the last 45 days, over 200 HDP members have been detained, 16 HDP members have been jailed and various party offices have been attacked over 50 times.

The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) has issued a report on the attacks the party has been subjected to during the election campaign.

According to the report, in the last 45 days over 200 HDP members have been detained, 16 HDP members have been jailed and various party offices have been attacked over 50 times. The AKP-MHP regime has increased pressure and attacks against the HDP. Out of the HDP members targeted due to the party's key role in the elections, at least 208 have been detained and 16 arrested in the last 45 days. There have also been at least 57 attacks against party offices within the same time frame.

According to an article by the Mesopotamia Agency, the Peoples' Democratic Party (Halkların Demokratik Partisi - HDP) issued a report on the obstacles and attacks against political parties in the campaign period including those against Saadet (Felicity) Party and CHP by the AKP-MHP member fascists.

FROM THE REPORT

The report includes information on each day's attacks and preventions. According to said report, the attacks started on April 28 and continued up until the day the report was issued. The report also mentions district and province chairs and dozens of party members being detained for campaigning, and that young people were detained for chanting slogans. HDP convoys, campaign office openings and rallies have all been carried out under blockades. HDP Co-chair Sezai Temelli was prevented from going abroad to campaign, his passport was confiscated and he was not allowed to leave the country.

The report also pointed out that the governors participated in AKP's election campaigns.

Police threatened campaigning HDP members and prevented them from dancing the halay, as well as from putting up party banners in party offices.

The report mentions that many HDP members had their homes raided.

The report included the attack against the convoy including HDP Co-chair Pervin Buldan in Nazilli and against voters in Ankara following Co-chair Sezai Temelli's popular meeting in the city.

The attack against Kurdish construction workers in Karapürçek, Ankara and the attack when a truck driver rammed his vehicle into the HDP election bus in Kayseri were also included in the report.

The report included instances of attacks and obstacles against the CHP, İyi Party and Saadet Party from several cities.

[Anthea]

Demirtaş responds to Erdoğan’s “death penalty” message

Responding to Turkish President Erdoğan’s “death penalty” message, HDP’s Demirtaş said; “I will take no step back”.

Speaking at a rally in Kocaeli province ahead of June 24 elections, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan continued his insults and threats against HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party) presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtaş, who is jailed in Edirne Prison since November 2016.

Erdoğan said; “This man is imprisoned at the moment. Judiciary must make a decision for him as soon as possible. We should ask the families of victims what sentence they want about this man who has caused the death of so many people.”

As Erdoğan spoke, the crowd chanted “death penalty”, in response to which he said; “If the Parliament happened to submit such a decision to me, I would approve it instantly.”

Demirtaş, who is running his election campaign from prison, has responded to Erdoğan on Twitter through his lawyers, saying;

“Erdoğan says that he will have me executed should he get elected. Do you see what a presidential candidate promises to the people in the Turkey of 2018? I would sacrifice my life a thousand times for our people and take no step back.”

[Piling]

He seems to fear Demirtas more than Öcalan, funny.

[Anthea]

He seems to fear Demirtas more than Öcalan, funny.

I believe that many more people support Demirtas because they are unaware Demirtas is controlled by the cough cough cough

Demirtas is smarmy (of low sleazy taste or quality, revealing or marked by a smug, ingratiating, or false earnestness) akin to a used car salesman

Kurds are so keen to have power from somewhere, they will even except a self-opinionated idiot such as Demirtas

People seem unable to realise the damage Demirtas did to the HDP by openly supporting Ocalan and the PKK

Not forgetting the damage Demirtas caused to honest, hard working fellow HDP MPs, many of whom have been arrested due to idiot Demirtas

[Anthea]

On 24 June Turkey is holding both General as well as Presidential elections

Erdogan is expecting to be confirmed as GOD with the same powers as the Supreme Leaders of Iran

I believe that if Erdogan fails to win, he will declare the elections VOID and bring in Marshall Law

Does anyone else share my opinion ???

[Anthea]

Demirtaş responds to Erdoğan

HDP’s Presidential Candidate Selahattin Demirtaş responded on Twitter to Erdoğan’s comments that “there must be criteria to be a presidential candidate”.

HDP’s (Peoples' Democratic Party) Presidential Candidate Selahattin Demirtaş, who continues to campaign for the election from the Edirne Type F Prison he is held hostage in, responded to Erdoğan’s comments referring to him that “there must be criteria to be a presidential candidate, this wrong must be righted.”

Demirtaş said the following on his Twitter account: “Well, this time I agree with you Erdoğan. For instance, you would definitely have to have a university diploma, but nobody has seen it to date. I do meet the criteria, you, not so much.”

[Anthea]

HDP Buldan: You can make the dream of a democratic Turkey true

HDP co-chair, Pervin Buldan was in Istanbul on Thursday as part of the election campaign.

Buldan met people in Sultanbeyli where she underlined that “The peoples of Turkey have made their decision. Kurds have made their decision. To the AKP they say, ‘you are going’, to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan they say, ‘you are going’. You know why? Because they are tired of 16 years of persecution and anger. The AKP is ready to explode”. (I doubt that)

The HDP co-chair added that “16 years or AKP rule has taken its toll on this country. When we say peace, they insist on war. They keep accusing people of being ‘without religion’, and they accuse our party of that. In this country, however, there is no other party but the HDP in favor of democracy and peace. We did not learn our religion from Recep Tayyip Erdoğan”.

Buldan said: “What the government is most afraid of today is the HDP overcoming the threshold. Their nightmare is Selahattin Demirtaş, our presidential candidate”.

The HDP co-chair and candidate underlined once more the violent attacks on the party and the party’s presidential candidate carried out by the government and the President.

Indeed, Buldan said, Erdoğan is actually calling on his people to obstruct the voting process, to intervene at station polls. “This is actually a coup - said Buldan - they are calling on their people to violently act during the voting process. We are against these methods. You will never steal our votes. Peoples of Turkey know these dirty practices”.

No more war

Buldan added: “War means blood, death means tears, the tears of our mothers means that our young children are buried. Turkey peoples gained nothing from this war. The HDP will bring peace, democracy, justice, law to this country. We give you our word. Because you cannot talk of justice in a country without peace.

The HDP is a hope for the future of the peoples of Turkey. Let's all join in this hope together. Together we multiply this hope”.

Sadly, most Kurds want FREEDOM from Turkish oppression but HDP seems to want brotherhood with the Turkish savages

Buldan ended her speech by calling on people and make that 25 June will be a day without Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“Imagine a Turkey - she said - on 25 June where the HDP will have a strong representation and Selahattin Demirtas will be president. Believing this is not a dream. It is up to us to make this dream comes true. One vote changes a lot”.

[Anthea]

Turkey election: Three dead in clash as pre-poll tension rises

Media captionDoes it matter who's in charge of Turkey?

Three people are dead and eight wounded in southern Turkey, after election campaigning descended into violence.

The incident has heightened tensions ahead of the 24 June vote, in which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is aiming for a second term.

The clash broke out in the mainly Kurdish town of Suruc, when an MP from the ruling AKP, Ibrahim Halil Yildiz, was touring some shops.

Pro-government and pro-Kurdish accounts of the incident differ significantly.

The state-run Anadolu news agency reports that Kurdish militant shopkeepers attacked the MP's entourage, and says his brother is among the dead. It says supporters of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) were involved in the bloodshed.

But opposition sources say the politician's bodyguards opened fire when he received a hostile reception.

Eight people were taken to hospital and police made 10 arrests, security sources say.
Why is the vote so tense?

The presidential and parliamentary elections are expected to be close run.

Mr Erdogan could be forced into a run-off and the AKP (the Justice and Development Party) may lose its majority in parliament.
People hold an election poster showing Turkey's president and the banner of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) during a rally in the Eminonu district of Istanbul on June 14, 2018. Image copyright AFP/Getty Images
Image caption A poster of Turkey's president and the banner of the ruling AKP at a rally in Istanbul

The presidential candidate for the pro-Kurdish HDP, Selahattin Demirtas, is campaigning from prison after being arrested in November 2016.

If his party exceeds the 10% vote threshold required to enter Turkey's parliament, that could jeopardise Mr Erdogan's chances of a majority.

Speaking about the bloodshed on Thursday, HDP co-leader Pervin Buldan condemned the killings and added: "We see that some are trying to incite the people with provocations."

Mr Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin condemned the "hideous attack" on Twitter.

What is Erdogan's strategy?

BBC Turkey Correspondent Mark Lowen reports that the violence on Thursday came after a video leaked on social media purported to show President Erdogan advocating the intimidation of Kurds to win more votes.

The video shows the president telling party officials that they should focus on the HDP. He then tells them that they have the voter lists of each neighbourhood, and should do what is necessary.

He adds that if AKP officials arrive at polling stations before the other parties, in his words, "it can end before it even begins".

The president's supporters have argued that this is a legitimate campaign strategy to deal with the competition.

His critics say he's encouraging the intimidation - or worse - of Kurdish voters.

"Amidst what could be the closest election in many years, it's an increasingly dirty fight for every vote," our correspondent reports.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-44486003

[Anthea]

What do the polls say for Turkey's elections?

Different survey companies asked people about the upcoming elections in different parts of Turkey. Some polls suggested Erdogan would need a second round to be re-elected as the president, while some polls showed he would win in the first leg.

With less than two weeks until Turkish nationals head to the polls, pollsters have started to release their predictions.

To win in the first round, a presidential candidate needs more than 50 percent of the votes.

Amongst the six candidates competing, some polls indicate Erdogan will win the first round, while some others say Erdogan is likely to be re-elected as the president of Turkey in a second round.

If none of the candidates can pass the 50 percent threshold, the second round will take place on July 8.

We take a look at what credible pollsters have to say about the June 24 elections.

A survey of 3,000 respondents in 26 of Turkey’s 81 provinces showed Erdogan might receive 48.3 percent of votes in the first round, with the main opposition party candidate, Muharrem Ince, receiving 31.4 percent. The poll was conducted between May 29 and June 3.

Sonar, one of the leading survey companies who gave close predictions in the previous elections, said a second round would take a place, and if that happens more than 53 percent of respondents said they would vote for Erdogan against Ince.

In the parliamentary vote, the AK Party is forecasted to win 42.2 percent of the vote with its ally, the nationalist MHP, expected to garner 7.1 percent of votes, taking the tally of the alliance to 49.3 percent in total.

Ten political parties are running in Turkey's parliamentary elections, seven of them set up two electoral alliances, following Turkish parliament's vote to change the electoral system in March, allowing political parties to form alliances.

The AK Party has set up an electoral alliance with the MHP and the BBP. Both parties, as well as the HUDA PAR, support Erdogan for the presidency.

And the main opposition CHP (Republican People's Party) formed an alliance with the Saadet (Felicity) Party, the Iyi (Good) Party and the Demokrat Party (DP).

The CHP has nominated its MP Muharrem Ince as its presidential candidate, as the SP and Iyi Party nominated their own presidential candidates.

Sonar’s survey showed their alliance bagging 39.5 percent of the vote with CHP getting 28.2 percent, Iyi Party 9.2 percent, and SP only 2.1 percent of the votes.

The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) – whose members, including two former co-chairs, have been jailed for alleged links to terrorism – was seen earning exactly 10 percent, the threshold needed to enter the parliament.

All the political parties running independently or as part of an alliance should get at least 10 percent of the votes to send MPs to the parliament, according to the threshold rule of Turkey's electoral system.

The HDP’s performance in the parliamentary polls is important because it is not included in any of the alliances.

Therefore, if it fails to pass the threshold, the party who gets the most of the votes where HDP is strong will have all the seats from that constituency.

That would most likely benefit the AK Party, which is also strong in the constituencies where HDP has most of its supporters.

A survey by KONDA, another pollster that has had a successful track record, suggests that Erdogan would get 51.4 percent of votes in the presidential race and there would be no second run.

Other candidates' projections were: Ince 23.9 percent, Aksener 12.30 percent, and Demirtas 9.6 percent.

SP’s Temel Karamollaoglu stands at 2.2 percent in the survey, while Dogu Perincek has 0.6 percent.

In the race for parliament, the AK Party is seen earning 45 percent of votes, while the CHP is seen securing 23.5 percent.

And predictions for the alliances say that the AK Party’s alliance with the MHP and BBP stands at 54 percent, and the CHP’s alliance with three other small parties is at 31.5 percent.

MAK, another survey company, said Erdogan is seen securing the presidency in the first round of the election with 51.5 percent votes. The closest rival to Erdogan was Muharrem Ince, who was seen getting 24.4 percent of votes followed by Meral Aksener with 12.5 percent.

HDP’s Demirtas is expected to win 8.8 percent of the vote, according to MAK’s survey, which also indicated Karamollaoglu would receive only 2.2 percent.

For the parliamentary elections, the AK Party was seen dominating polls with 43.5 percent of total votes followed by the CHP who stood at 24.2 percent.

The newly established Iyi Party of Meral Aksener was seen breaking the threshold with 10.3 percent of votes, while the HDP stayed behind with 9.2 percent.

Karamollaoglu’s SP is forecasted to receive only 2.2 percent on MAK’s survey.

There are also conflicting surveys, like that of the Gezici survey company, which said Meral Aksener would come second in the presidential election, surpassing the CHP's Ince.

Gezici said there would be a second round in the presidential election as Erdogan would get 46 percent while Aksener gets 26 percent, and Ince 19 percent.

HDP's Demirtas, on the other hand, would receive nine percent, giving no chance to SP's Karamollaoglu.

In terms of the parliamentary election, the alliance of the AK Party and the MHP would receive 50.7 percent of the votes, while the Iyi Party was seen at 19.4 percent.

The CHP was seen receiving 18.5 percent, losing the main opposition title.

According to the Gezici survey, HDP would pass above the threshold with a 10.6 votes, while the SP was seen securing only 1.3 percent of the votes.

Survey companies said they would announce the latest and detailed version of their survey four days before the elections are held.

Turkey is switching from a parliamentary system to an executive presidential system after a narrowly approved referendum last year, in the wake of a 2016 coup attempt. The changes will come into effect with the next elections, which had originally been set for November 2019.

Under the constitutional reform, the number of lawmakers in the parliament will rise to 600 from 550, the presidential and the parliamentary elections will be held every five years, and the elected president will not be bound to cut ties with his or her party.

Here's a look at the previous election results in Turkey:

Source: TRTWorld and agencies

https://www.trtworld.com/turkey/what-do ... ons--18061

[Anthea]

There is NO doubt that Erdogan will win

He might not win the first round outright

But he will win the second round

Click on images to enlarge

[Anthea]

There is a need for Kurdish Unity

Kasım Engin, talked about the Turkish state's occupation of Bashûrê (Southern) Kurdistan and the resistance of the guerrillas against the fascist Turkish army.

The Union and Progress Committee, a continuation of the Ottoman Empire, a hundred years ago, built its existence on the destruction of the people who lived in this land. Engin, drawing attention to the massacre of one and a half million Armenians in 1915, reminded that Syriac people were also massacred.

“In fact, fascism and genocide are a culture of the Union and Progress (İttihat Terakki) Committee. Maybe it is a culture that they have transferred to the world. The German fascist Hitler killed 6 million Jews. Hitler based its genocide against Jews on the Union and Progress. Hitler not only took example from the Union and Progress but also called Atatürk 'my teacher'. The fascism that developed in these lands has actually been a model for the world”.

Turkey wants to play with the demography of Kurdistan

Engin noted that it is not hard to make sense of the occupation campaign initiated in Bashûrê Kurdistan today, and that in the last two or three years the practice of black, green and green fascism can be easily seen and that it is necessary to look at Sur, Cizre, Nusaybin and Afrin to understand it.

Engin said: “The people slaughtered in Sur and Cizre were covered with fuel to be destroyed. They attack the Kurdish geography by emptying those places and play with demography. Attacks were also carried out against the referendum in Bashûrê Kurdistan in 2017.Turkish fascism is actually the main actor behind the scenes in Iraq as well”.

Recalling that the Turkish fascism defines itself as Ottomanism and that it aims at regaining the Ottoman occupied territory, Engin said: “Although it seems to be a very big target, its main target is to return to the old borders of the Ottoman Empire. The AKP-MHP fascism does not mention Mosul, Batum, Thessaloniki and Kirkuk in vain”.

Turkey aims at invading all Kurdistan

Engin said that the aim of the invasion attacks carried out since last winter against Bashûrê Kurdistan is to actually get rid of the achievements made in Bashur.

He underlined that under attack in fact is not just Bradost, or the guerrillas, but the entire Bashûrê Kurdistan.

Engin said that the people of Kurdistan should be prepared against the occupation attacks, especially the people of South Kurdistan. He noted that fascism does not only concern a military control of Bashûrê Kurdistan but also a political, social and society control.

Engin underlined the guerrilla resistance against the colonialist Turkish state in Bakûré (Northern) Kurdistan and Bashûrê Kurdistan. “The guerrilla resistance is an attempt to stop any kind of fascism, and the guerrilla develops its war and resistance with consciousness. The most concrete example of this is Bradost”.

Engin added: “The AKP-MHP wants to escalate the war in order to keep the power of fascism alive. On this basis nationalist-chauvinist tendencies are being developed. AKP-MHP fascist power has brought Turkey to the brink of bankruptcy and disaster. Society is experiencing a psychological collapse”. (Propaganda with little truth)

In fact, said Engin “the state collapsed and there is nothing called state apparatus. It's just a fascist building”. Engin added that it is important to not limit resistance only to guerrillas. “The society should stand up and resist. - he said -The best answer to be given on the political arena will be with the 24 June elections”.

International silence

Engin stated that the silence of the international powers meant approving the occupation attacks. Afrin, he said, is the most concrete example of this.

Likewise, Engin reminded of the silence of Barzani and the KDP in front of the Turkish state and its occupation attacks against Başûrê Kurdistan.

There should be a clear stance against the occupation attacks. Noting that the four parts are under the threat of the occupation of Kurdistan, Engin added that a Kurdish national unity needs to be established as soon as possible.