Kurdish independent candidate says HDP has not served Kurds, but gov’t
“A political party like the HDP has been in power for 20 years, and Kurds have significantly credited and supported them with tolerance,” Bayram Bozyel from Diyarbakir told journalists on Tuesday.
Bozyel is a Kurdish candidate who declined to join the seven-party Kurdish alliance that includes the HDP.
“However, when we look at the consequences, we do not see anything for Kurds such as the preservation of our culture and historical values,” he said.
Bozyel is a member of the Kurdistan Socialist Party (PSK), but will not run on the party’s list.
PSK and Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) have announced they will field independent candidates for the March elections in some Kurdish areas.
The HDP is by far the largest pro-Kurdish party in Turkey and along with seven other Kurdish parties will field candidates in most parts of the country.
Bozyel blamed the HDP for allegedly serving Turkish interests with the way they governed the regions.
Many HDP mayors and governors who won in 2014 have been replaced by trustees who are close the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) after the failed military coup in July 2016.
Ankara blames followers of cleric Fethullah Gulen for the coup.
Separately, many HDP members including former co-chairs have been put behind bars for alleged links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) or propagating for it. HDP denies the allegations.
PSK and PAK are not popular in Kurdish provinces, unlike the HDP which has been the only pro-Kurdish party to pass 10 percent threshold in a parliamentary election.
