🗓 Date: Wednesday, 28 September 2022
⏳ Time: 12:30
📍Location: Lower Galleria Room 1, ACC Liverpool, Kings Dock Street, Liverpool, England, L3 4FP
For our final event of the conference we were joined by Hisyar Oszoy, Turkish HDP MP, Matt Bloomfield from the Kurdish Assembly, Kim Johnson MP and Iida Kayhko
Matt opened by noting that topical nature of the discussion, with the contemporary protests happening in Iran the question of the Kurdish Community in Iran is once again being raised. These mimic the discussions being held in Syria by the SDC. Adding to the context, Matt noted that current polling indicates that Turkey could be about to elect a non-AKP government for the first time in 23 years in 2023 – with the Pro-Kurdish HDP party a plausible coalition partner to the main opposition. However as with Hungary in 2022 Erdogan’s control over the state and media is so totemic that the oppositions chances are heavily limited.
The Kurdish Assembly agreed that there was cause for optimism with regards to the situation in Turkey, with Erdogan suffering from a precipitous decline in support. However they agreed for the need for this optimism to be guarded given the state of control that Erdogan has. Exactly what form democracy will take in a post-Erdogan Turkey is also unknown, the priority is simply to make sure the wishes of the Kurdish population are respected.
Kim Johnson MP & Christian Wakeford MP repeated the strong support that the Labour Party has for the Kurdish Community in the UK and in the middle east. The Labour Party will always stand with its Kurdish friends and allies when we are in government.
Hisyar discussed the situation on the ground for the HDP in Turkey, they are being persecuted but still managing to largely operate in the open. The HDP are of course not a wholly Kurdish party, they are committed to the rights of all minorities – and indeed all people in Turkey – to be free from tyranny.
The meeting agreed that there was a good chance for Erdogan to go in 2023, but that what happened next was still unclear.
Speakers:
