MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Amed - The People’s Democratic Party (HDP) Diyarbakır MP Semra Güzel was stripped of her MP status yesterday by Turkey's Parliament. After the voting at the parliament, women showed their reaction to the decision by taking to the streets and posting on social media platforms. HDP women MPs also reacted to the decision saying, “Semra Güzel was stripped of her MP status like Leyla Güven.”

‘The decision is an unjust decision’

In an interview with NuJINHA, HDP Siirt MP Meral Danış Beştaş said that Semra Güzel is the will of the people and that the decision cannot change this. Pointing out that the decision is an unjust decision, Meral Danış Beştaş said that the government has launched a smear campaign against the HDP by serving her photos taken years ago.

‘The process was turned into a show by the government’

“Semra Güzel could not go to the parliament for months because she was targeted and lynched. The pro-government news outlets prevented Semra Güzel from her parliamentary activities by targeting her. There was no arrest warrant issued against her. While there were no obstacles against her to carry out her political activities, the pro-government press outlets and the AKP turned this process into an election campaign, a political propaganda and a show by targeting her. The parliament should not have been a party to this crime; the MPs should have voted no. Those who voted for stripping the MP status of Semra Güzel will pay the price before history. We will keep struggling with the people,” Meral Danış Beştaş told NuJINHA.

‘Will of millions has been ignored’

HDP Batman MP Feleknaz Uca emphasized that the decision against Semra Güzel was a political decision. Noting that the AKP-MHP fascism aims to destroy the will of millions in the person of Semra Güzel, she said, “Semra Güzel was targeted and lynched for months. They (AKP-MHP) want to intensify their attacks and take this situation to another stage by aggravating the isolation in Imrali, blockading our MPs in Kadıköy and trying to close the HDP. Semra Güzel is the will of millions. Semra Güzel is the MP of Amed (Turkish: Diyarbakır), and the people of Amed. She is one of the women working hard in the parliament.”

‘They first stripped the membership of Leyla Güven’

Underlining that they do not recognize the decision made by the AKP-MHP and İYİ Party, Feleknaz Uca said, “This is a political decision and we know the people who made this decision very well. Semra Güzel is not the first person, who was stripped of her MP status, and she will not be the last. They want to scare the HDP by starting summaries of proceedings against us and threatening us. But they cannot scare us. They first stripped the membership of Leyla Güven and today they stripped the membership of Semra Güzel. Since the 90s, such attacks have been carried out against the will of the Kurdish people. We will grow our struggle and resistance against these attacks. Semra Güzel is not alone.

‘These are threadbare tactics’

HDP Izmir MP Serpil Kemalbay called on everyone, who defends democracy and peace, to struggle against the attacks on democracy and peace. “One famous quotation by Terence reads ‘I am human, I consider nothing human alien to me’. If 330 MPs had not pledged their minds and consciences to the Palace, if they had not been an enemy of the Kurds, they would have understood Semra Güzel's story and would not have been a party to this crime. What has been done to Semra Güzel is not just an unlawful practice, it is much more. Despite the struggle of Kurdish politicians for democracy and peace, they continue to practice their threadbare tactics against Kurdish politicians.”