HDP’s Disclaimer

We had received a disclaimer from HDP to Markar Esayan’s and my articles, which had been published at Yeni Şafak on Wednesday and which had been written based on the dialogue that occurred between the Prime Minister Davutoğlu and Demirtaş on October 1st, which the Prime Minister Davutoğlu had related during the Wisemen Committee meeting. Let us first narrate the article, then we will analyze.

“A disclaimer to the Yeni Şafak newspaper’s authors…

There had been some claims in the columns of Yeni Şafak Newspaper’s authors Miss Hilal Kaplan and Mr. Markar Esayan today related with the meeting between our Co-Chairman Mr. Selahattin Demirtaş and Prime Minister Mr. Davutoğlu on October the 1st.

The words and statements that had been ascribed to Mr. Demirtaş and the alleged dialogues are not reflecting the truth. Before everything, Mr. Demirtaş had no calling or statement like ‘From now on everywhere will be Kobane’.

Secondly, Mr. Demirtaş had transmitted PYD’s urgent demands during the meeting, suggested a corridor to be opened, and asked Ankara to make contacts and come closer with PYD as soon as possible.

The claims that the government had laid all the options concerning the opening of the corridor on the table, and HDP had rejected those, are not reflecting the truth. On the contrary, HDP had been the side who had made an effort and a call for the corridors to be opened. We would like to remind (you) that the corridor, which had been opened the other day, was the most important topic mentioned in the meeting on October 1 by Mr. Demirtaş.

Thirdly, it is being alleged that in regards to the cross-border operation memorandum, Mr. Davutoğlu had stated that those are aspects in the memorandum that concerns Kobane, and upon this, Mr. Demirtaş had said, “We didn’t notice those”. Such a thing was not said. Mr. Demirtaş had clearly said that they are objecting to the war memorandum and they will be giving a vote against it, both at his meeting with Mr. Davutoğlu and in the announcement, he made immediately following the meeting. Thus, during the voting at the Parliament, a “no” vote had been given.

Based on all these truths; since the beginning, HDP had presented an attitude on the side of dialogue and resolution, also, had made an effort for the solution of the issues by means of dialogues with the government, and still is. All the comments and evaluations on the other direction are not reflecting HDP’s political attitude.

Respectfully announced to the public.”

                                             ***

It’s weird that the disclaimer letter had been directed at Markar Esayan and myself, because we had written our articles through the Prime Minister’s words, which had appeared in other newspapers before. Consequently, if there is going to be any disclaimer, then the actual addressee for it should be the Prime Minister. Or, if it is going to be directly directed at the Yeni Şafak authors, then it should also include Ali Bayramoğlu, who had transmitted the Prime Minister’s words on the same date. Though, from what I understood, by not taking the risk of directly targeting the Prime Minister and getting a possible counter-statement, HDP had preferred to deal with the situation by softening it through both authors. There is no problem, being disclaimed in the name of peace is also an honor. Let us continue from the letter.

In the disclaimer letter, it is being mentioned that there were no such words like “From now on everywhere is Kobane” that belongs to Demirtaş. One of the sentences that took place during HDP’s calling to the public on October 6 is as follows; “From now on everywhere is Kobane”. Although, if Demirtaş is not embracing the calling of a party that he is the Co-Chairman of, then it is our right to know that. Or, if HDP reached an autonomous structure like saying that the things we say only concerns us as an institution, not the head of the party, it is also our right to know that…

As for the meeting on the 1st of October, which is the first meeting for Demirtaş where he had been hosted at the Prime Ministry and which he had mentioned to be positive during his exit….

During the meeting, all kinds of options had been presented to Demirtaş, other than giving heavy weaponry to YPG, and the disclaimer also cannot claim that such options were not presented. In the disclaimer, it is stated that only the demand for opening a corridor had been rejected, though, the questions “what kind of a corridor” or “what will pass from that corridor” are forming the vital point of the issue. If what is meant is a heavy weapon corridor, then Davutoğlu tells them that they cannot provide this to the extension of an organization that had declared war on Turkey.

However, if the peshmerga corridor is what they meant, then it states that they had already offered it. If Demirtaş is going to release a refutation, then he should clarify the issue by saying, “The peshmerga corridor had never been offered to us”.

Besides, if Davutoğlu is the one that had rejected all the options, then Demirtaş should explain why he had said, “We had talked about the necessary things that need to be done in order to kick ISIL out of the region. The Prime Minister’s attitude towards this matter is positive” during his exit from this meeting. And of course, he should also explain why he had invited the public “to the streets, to hold areas, to mobilize and to an indefinite resistance” during this October 6th calling, which had ended up with the deaths of 40 people…  

I’m sorry but, this should be the most amusing part of the disclaimer; “Since the beginning, HDP had presented an attitude on the side of dialogue and resolution, also, had made an effort for the solution of the issues by means of dialogues with the government, and still is.”

Besides, “Since the beginning”.

Right!