Speaking at the campaign launch HDP Co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş announced that they have launched a “No” campaign against the coup led by the AKP / Erdogan and said, “This will not be limited to parliament and will be beneficial for the future of Turkey.” Demirtaş also called for the forming of a strong bloc.

Highlights from Demirtaş’s speech are as follows:

“We all share the same worry. There has been a Erdogan/Palace coup in motion since June 7 (general election), and the force to stop this coup is the force behind this declaration. We are here today because we trust in our peoples, we are here today because of the fight waged by those who are saying no to a one man rule in Turkey and the dictatorship that he wants to create under the guise of a presidential system.

The widespread attack on the HDP and Democratic Regions Party (DBP) is a part of this coup process. Every step he takes is only to take over the country. He has developed the coup process [against the HDP], one step at a time. Everybody knows this, everybody is aware that he is only furthering his own dirty agenda. As the force that can foil his plans we will be his nightmare. The man in the palace [Erdogan] knows this very well. The obstacles in his way were cleared one by one. He managed to dispose of them. The only force left that he can’t dispose of is “Us”. The forces who believe in a bright future for Turkey. Looking at the support we have, we can easily say we are hopeful. These dark days will definitely pass, with the common stance taken here. Parliamentary immunity will be lifted, but we are calling on those who say no to this coup in the Parliament once again to unite. This is not a personal matter that only concerns us. If it was about putting us on trial, our cases could be brought to trial singularly and we would have been tried. But the AKP has tried to involve the two other opposition parties (MHP-CHP) in this coup process to oust us from Parliament. And the main opposition [CHP] party has chosen to fan the flames instead of comprehending this trap correctly.

“We need to form a strong bloc”

They may not come up with 330 “Yes” votes [to pass the immunity bill], so we are launching a “No” campaign. Today’s declaration is a “No to presidency” campaign. The campaign will not be limited to parliament. We need to build a strong bloc around “No”. This “No” will show the future is hopeful still. This declaration has such a deeper meaning than just support.

The palace’ [Erdogan] coup continues. If we had not resisted and instead rushed to the Palace gardens and begged for scraps, the coup would have been completed. Imagine that the government is not in a position to take decisions on its own. They can’t decide on anything. Everything is decided by Erdogan; who the leader of the AKP will be, who the prime minister will be, who the university rectors will be, who will write what in which column of which newspaper is decided by the Palace now. Ahmet Davutoğlu is the person who has contributed the most to this one-man regime. He has not defended parliament, he has not stood behind those who voted for him, obeying the Palace/Erdogan Davutoğlu has provided the biggest support. Davutoğlu has also written his name in history as the perpetrator of massacres. Now his time is up. It seems that more than a hundred per cent obedience is required. This was Davutoğlu’s shortcoming, he only obeyed 99.9% but it wasn’t enough. Now his duty is to publicly expose this understanding, leading to the one-man regime. We have issued countless calls, we told them to show will. We said let’s stop this coup together, let’s create the common understanding that can solve our problems with negotiations. Instead they sided with the monist mindset of the Palace/Erdogan more than anybody else.

“More than half the country wants Erdogan on trial”

According to the Turkish Constitution, the President cannot decide on who the leader of a party will be or when its congress will be held. The Constitution does not recognise this authority, but Erdogan is blatantly doing these things. Davutoğlu used to say that the people will decide on the future of the country, let’s see him come out and say who decides the future of this country now. This is a coup. It can’t be explained with any other concept. This is dictatorship.

The immunity issue was first voiced by the man in the Palace/Erdogan. It is perfectly understood that the man in the Palace is the only one that wants to see us on trial. He argues this is the will of the people. If it’s the will of the people he wants, we should start with putting him on trial. More than half of the 78 million population wants him on trial. Half of the country wants him on trial for what he did in Cizre, Sur and Silopi, in Gezi. Heeding to the voice of the people, we need to lift his immunity first.

“We need strong united front”

More than 30 [DBP] co-mayors have been arrested and removed from duty. Many of them were arrested on nonsensical charges, like being present at a press conference. The local will of the people has also been hit by a coup. This declaration today is a joint declaration to protect the democratic victory our peoples have achieved fighting tooth and nail. We have a great accumulation of experience in this struggle. Today, numerous forces of democracy led by the Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK) and Democratic Society Congress (DTK) have fulfilled a historic duty by launching this campaign to say “No to the coup” and “No to dictatorship”. The days to come are historic days. A snap election can also be brought onto the agenda by Erdogan any time now, or a referendum for presidency. This is why we have to continue this struggle in a strong united front to defeat the monist, dictatorial mindset together."

Source: ANF