ANKARA - Participating in the HDP congress,  Catalan Party Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP) MP Eulalia Requanti Cura, said: "Keep your hopes up, we believe you will win. The prerequisite for peace and democracy is PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan.

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) held its 5th Ordinary Grand Congress yesterday at Ankara Sports Hall. Many activists and MPs from the Middle East, Europe and North Africa participated in the congress. Thousands of people in the congress voiced their demands for a democratic solution to the Kurdish Question with their slogans. International delegations evaluated the atmosphere of the congress and the isolation on PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan.

KURDS KEEP THEIR HOPES UP

Stating that they saw that the Kurdish people keep their hopes up and believe that they could change things, and they were very impressed, Eulalia Requanti Cura, MP for the Catalan Party Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP) said: “The most important thing and the most necessary thing to stand against such a dictatorship is hope. Thousands of people have gathered here and they say they will change this course. This is so precious. The message given by the co-chairs here was a very important message not only for the peoples of Turkey, but also in the international arena. In the congress, the message of the brotherhood of the peoples was given and it was said that they would stand up for the recovery of human rights.”

ÖCALAN'S FREEDOM

Cure said: "The first requirement for human rights and freedoms is the freedom of Öcalan and the thousands of political prisoners were taken as prisoners by Turkey. This is the prerequisite for peace and democracy. We repeat that holding Öcalan in isolation for a very long time is never the way to establish peace. Keep your hopes up, we believe you will win. I also have a message for Europe, they should look at the people in this hall and see the strength and willpower. This is all we need.”

THE MESSAGE TO THE OPPOSITION PARTIES

Stating that the messages of HDP Co-Chairs Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar are extremely important, European Parliament Left Party Co-Chair Die Linke MP Martin Schirdewan said: “It is important that  Kurdish people try to solve problems through political and democratic means against the conflict of the AKP government. An important message was given to other opposition parties in Turkey as well. It was emphasized that something need to change and that they should contribute to the solution, not the problem. It was stated that this is the only way to defeat Erdogan. I hope they pay attention this. Only in the last few years, thousands of HDP members have been detained and arrested. Thousands of people were exiled. I would like to say that we are in solidarity with them. All political prisoners and Öcalan should be free immediately. The violation of fundamental human rights and the disregarding of democracy in Turkey is intolerable. This policy in Turkey needs to change immediately. We can no longer allow the right to self-determination of the Kurds to be violated any longer.”

‘IT IS THE PEOPLES THAT ARE STRONG’

Noting that he is very happy to be in HDP's congress, European Left Party Representative and Greek Syriza MP Nektarios Bougdanis said: "I am very lucky to be able to see this atmosphere. Coming here has always been a dream of mine. We see the resistance of the Kurdish people in the face of authoritarianism in Turkey and we came here to show our solidarity with them. The Kurdish people are struggling against this authoritarianism, capitalism, militarism, closed borders, brutal refugee policies and neoliberal policies. Although we do not have to deal with serious problems as you, we are also struggling against the same fundamental problems in Europe. We must work together and fight together. It is the peoples that are strong.”