Demirtaş: All parties should focus on peace rather than elections
ANKARA (DİHA) - "The hands should be removed from the trigger and the parties should be invited back to the table, which is more pertaining to conscience and morality than the calls being made to surrender", HDP Co-President Selahattin Demirtaş said.
HDP (Peoples' Democratic Party) Co-President Selahattin Demirtaş met representatives of non-governmental organizations at the party's meeting hall in the parliament.
'Negotiation only way out of current conflict'
Demirtaş welcomed the visit of NGO representatives and called on them to raise their voices stronger against war, putting emphasis on the need for the civil society to speak and defend peace amidst the ongoing conflict in the country. Demirtaş said making a discrimination of the deaths would block the ways to peace and underlined that the present conflict environment influenced and harmed every single person in the country.
'Hands should be removed from the trigger'
HDP Co-President stressed that negotiation and re-initiation of the process of resolution and dialogue, which has inched along for the past three years, was the only way out of the current conflict. "The hands should be removed from the trigger and the parties should be invited back to the table, which is more pertaining to conscience and morality than the calls being made to surrender", he underlined.
Remarking that keeping the paths of democratic politics open in such processes was a part of the solution, Demirtaş said debates such as closure of parties and lifting of immunities would not open but block these paths. HDP Co-President also stressed that restriction of democracy and efforts to obstruct politics would contribute only to violence.
Demirtaş stated that despite everything, they, together with the 6 million people who voted for them, and their families, had the power to resist through democratic and peaceful ways. He warned that armed conflict shouldn't be considered as an option, adding; "Despite all the difficulties, we will resist in the field of democratic politics in parliament and defend the right to live in dignity in these lands."
'If we are proved to be an obstacle to peace, we will leave our duties'
Referring to the investigation newly launched against him, Demirtaş said; "If we are proved to be an obstacle to peace, we will leave our duties and be ready for death even if this will bring peace to the country."
'Process of resolution is too fragile to wait for an early election'
Regarding President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's statements on the possibility of an early election with a minority government, Demirtaş pointed out that the process of resolution was too fragile to wait for an early election, and that the provisional government could decide for peace while it could already decide for war.
"It is not elections but the people dying every day that is a a matter of urgency to us. We shouldn't wait for the elections to come up with a solution for this problem. We will respect anything requested by the people, whether it is about a minority government or an early election."
'Our doors are open for peace'
HDP Co-President said they would meet CHP Leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu next week, noting that they were open to dialogue with other parties as well, and all those who ignored them, including the President, Prime Minister and Bahçeli, leader of the nationalist party MHP. "Our doors are open for peace and we can knock at every door for peace", he said.
Demirtaş added that all the parties should focus on peace rather than elections.
(nt)
