WELT: In the local elections, your left-liberal DEM party and the social democratic CHP performed significantly better than in the presidential and parliamentary elections. Does that mean that the previous idea of a large alliance against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not working? This time, the opposition parties ran separately and were more successful.
Tülay Hatimogullari: We were actually quite successful, but we did cooperate in some places with the CHP, the largest opposition party. In the southeast of Turkey, we wanted to recapture those municipalities where our mayors had been deposed by the government and placed under compulsory administration. We succeeded. In total, we won the elections in 75 cities and municipalities. In the west of the country, we made compromises with the CHP in several cities and did not put up candidates, so that their candidates were able to win there. But we also mobilized social groups there, such as women and workers. The CHP also conquered several large cities with the help of our voters. This enabled the fascist alliance of Erdogan’s AKP and the nationalist MHP to be defeated.
WELT: The CHP has reached out to the various ethnic groups in Turkey more than before. The importance of ethnic differences in Turkish politics seems to be decreasing. Is this also a signal for the DEM? So far, your party has been perceived primarily as pro-Kurdish.
Hatimogullari: That is exactly the direction we are going in. During the local elections, we were already trying to create a social alliance around political issues such as social justice, ecology and women’s liberation. We want to continue this after the election so that we can develop a strategy for democratic change in Turkey together with other opposition parties. This year, the Turkish Republic will be 100 years old and our aim is for its second century to be a democratic century. To do this, we must tackle the problems of our country, especially unemployment and poverty. There is real hardship in many places in Turkey. The Kurdish question remains an important issue for us in the democratisation of Turkey, but we want to find an answer to it together with the other democratic parties.
WELT: You speak of democratic change. How optimistic are you that Erdogan can be defeated in elections?
Hatimogullari: Since 2015, his AKP has been steadily losing influence. In the local elections, it only came second behind the CHP. But electoral success alone is not enough to bring about democratic change. To do this, social groups that have been marginalized up to now must be strengthened and mobilized – namely women, workers and others. The CHP has done too little to achieve this. That is why we lost the last parliamentary election again. The CHP must become bolder if we want to beat Erdogan.
WELT: Braver?
Hatimogullari: Yes, it must address the conflicts within Turkish society more openly. Turkey must change fundamentally. We must not go back to the old ways of doing things. To do this, the CHP must also recognise that the Kurdish question is still open and must be prepared to find a democratic answer to it together. In the same way, we must not ignore how disadvantaged women in Turkey still are. We need solutions to these and many other problems, which are also reflected in the Turkish constitution.
WELT: Erdogan’s AKP also wants a new constitution. Would you be willing to work with the AKP in exchange for concrete concessions on constitutional reform?
Hatimogullari: Above all, we want Turkey to be democratized. That would be the most important point of a constitutional reform, a strengthening of civil rights, women’s rights, religious freedom, ethnic and cultural diversity. Democratization would also mean stopping the transformation of Turkish society. The new school policy is making teaching more sexist, fundamentalist and hostile towards religious minorities such as the Alevis. That must stop. If the AKP wants to negotiate all of that – very happy! But we should be careful not to throw Erdogan a lifeline. He always seeks rapprochement when he is under pressure. We should not fall for that. And there are more urgent issues than constitutional reform, such as the impoverishment of the population. And we must finally implement all the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights. This includes the release of the former chairman of our party, Selahattin Demirtas, and his co-chair Figen Yüksedag.
WELT: The very popular Demirtas was recently sentenced to another prison term. The judiciary in Turkey is generally considered to be politically influenced. Doesn’t this verdict mean that Erdogan wants to take away any opportunity for your political camp to legally gain greater political influence? Can you accept that?
Hatimogullari: On May 16, 24 of our friends were sentenced to a total of 407 years and seven months in prison, including, unfortunately, our former HDP co-chairs Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yüksekdag. We said from the beginning that the case was not legal, but political. The verdict vindicated us. Our friends were sentenced just because they made political statements against the IS massacres and the AKP-MHP government. Not only our party, but the social opposition has become a target. The aim of the trial is to eliminate the insistence on a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question and democratic politics.
WELT: You spoke of a democratic solution to the Kurdish question. What do you mean by that? State independence is not the goal of your party.
Hatimogullari: The way to rebuild the democratic republic in the second century of the republic is to see the demands of the oppressed, especially the Kurdish problem, the Alevi problem, the workers, women and ecology. In this sense, the isolation imposed on PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan must be ended immediately. It does not only affect him. The whole society is isolated. Thus, it is not possible to talk about a real solution to all these problems. The abolition of the isolation system will open the clogged pipes of democratic politics. The Kurdish problem is a problem of recognition and status. Insisting on seeking the solution in such a security policy as is the case today actually leads to bankruptcy. As the DEM party, we believe that the step to be taken by the parliament to solve the Kurdish question is the most important step for Turkey on the way to a democratic century.
WELT: Erdogan seems to be turning back to the West. He has agreed to Sweden and Finland joining NATO and was just visiting Berlin. Can Europe hope for an improvement in this leadership?
Hatimogullari: When Erdogan came to power at the end of the 1990s, he promised democratization and rapprochement with Europe. But the opposite was the case. Since he formed an alliance with the nationalist MHP, he has been pursuing a Eurasian agenda, i.e. rapprochement with China and Russia. In the wake of the recent Middle East crises, he used migration as a means of blackmailing Europe. My party believes that democratization must also be the goal in foreign policy. That is why we demand that Europe, and Germany too, make no compromises when it comes to democracy and freedom of expression. The Germans must not stop exerting pressure for the democratization of Turkey. There will always be migration movements. The best remedy against this is a European contribution to the stabilization of the Middle East. Giving in to dictators is the wrong approach.
WELT: The commander of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is banned in Turkey, was one of the few Middle Eastern actors who clearly and unequivocally condemned the terrorist attack by the Palestinian Hamas against Israel on October 7. Does he thereby represent a widespread attitude in the Kurdish and pro-Kurdish camp?
Hatimogullari: I can only speak for my party. We reject not only all terror against civilians, but also all militant religious fundamentalism and nationalism. The Kurds have repeatedly fallen victim to this form of extremism. But this also applies to many other ethnic groups in the Middle East. Attacks against civilians must never be a political tool, no matter which side they come from. An immediate ceasefire is needed to prevent further bloodshed. That is why we welcome international protests calling for an end to the war.
