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BDP leader Çelik renounces violence, calls for restraint
Supporters of the DTP have been holding violent demonstrations in the streets since the closure of their party by the Constitutional Court over charges of “ethnic separatism” last Friday. The demonstrators torched vehicles, threw stones at shop windows and engaged in clashes with nationalist groups. In the most violent incident, which took place in the eastern province of Muş on Tuesday, a storekeeper shot two dead and injured six others when his store was attacked by demonstrators. Speaking to Today's Zaman in an exclusive interview, Çelik called on everyone to act with common sense and stay away from violence.
“Members of the security forces have to be tolerant and should not alienate [Kurdish demonstrators]. And the protestors should claim their rights on a legitimate ground by distancing themselves from violence,” he said.
Dwelling on the claim that the street clashes are the result of conscious efforts to bring martial law to the Southeast, Çelik expressed his hope that Turkey will not return to those dark days (the days of martial law) again.
He said the BDP’s party council will gather over the weekend so that DTP members can join the party ranks while expressing that he will be happy about increased participation in the party.
“DTP members will engage in politics with the BDP from now on. There is not yet an organized plan regarding the participation of DTP deputies and mayors in our party. We will gather the party council over the weekend to discuss the influx. We would like to pave the way for our new members to express their views freely. We will call for an extraordinary assembly, taking the new participants into consideration. It will be either in February or March,” he said, adding that it was not yet clear who the party leader will be as every member of the party has a right to run for leadership positions.
The BDP was established as a “backup party” for the DTP before the DTP was closed down.
Çelik said his party will not be a party of solely Kurds but will embrace all democratic patriots, the oppressed, the poor, the workers, Alevis, the religious and everyone who was subjected to alienation or discrimination.
Expressing his belief that Turkey will solve all of its current problems, including the Kurdish problem, Çelik said as long as these problems are covered up and ignored, it is very possible for anti-democratic forces to intervene. In this regard, he called on the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government to push ahead with the democratization initiative it launched over the summer to resolve Turkey’s long-standing Kurdish problem.
“It would not be a solution to approach the problem with an understanding blessed by the state. A solution to the Kurdish problem can only be achieved through Turkey’s democratization, the dominance of democratic politics and a political will which takes the individual as its center. I believe that we will achieve this. Turkey needs this. We will be in Parliament relying on the grounds of democracy and legitimacy.”
Referring to a bloody attack carried out by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Central Anatolian province of Tokat last week that claimed the lives of seven soldiers, he said the attack was worrisome for everyone with a conscience.
Since the attack came one day before the Constitutional Court discussed the closure case of the DTP and during ongoing efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Kurdish problem, many thought it was a provocation aimed to ensure the closure of the DTP by the court and derail the peace process. “We want violence and weapons to drop from the agenda of society. Everyone should play their cards over legitimacy,” he added.
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