<div dir="ltr"><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Örsan Şenalp</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:orsan1234@gmail.com">orsan1234@gmail.com</a>></span><br>Date: Mon, Jun 8, 2015 at 3:42 PM<br>Subject: [NetworkedLabour] Fwd: [WSF-Discuss] What Does the HDP (People’s Democracy Party), in Turkey, Stand For?<br>To: "<a href="mailto:networkedlabour@lists.contrast.org">networkedlabour@lists.contrast.org</a>" <<a href="mailto:networkedlabour@lists.contrast.org">networkedlabour@lists.contrast.org</a>><br><br><br><br>
a piece thinking of HDP - Syriza - Podemos in one line:<br>
<br>
<br>
-------- Doorgestuurd bericht --------<br>
Onderwerp: [WSF-Discuss] What Does the HDP (People’s Democracy Party),<br>
in Turkey, Stand For?<br>
Datum: Mon, 8 Jun 2015 12:23:27 +0530<br>
Van: Sukla Sen <<a href="mailto:sukla.sen@gmail.com">sukla.sen@gmail.com</a>><br>
Antwoord-naar: Discussion list about the WSF<br>
<<a href="mailto:worldsocialforum-discuss@openspaceforum.net">worldsocialforum-discuss@openspaceforum.net</a>><br>
Aan: <a href="mailto:foil-l@insaf.net">foil-l@insaf.net</a><br>
<br>
[This well informed write-up had been penned, obviously, before the<br>
outcome of the parliamentary poll was out.]<br>
<br>
<a href="http://scroll.in/article/732412/turkey-gets-a-taste-for-european-style-radicalism-ahead-of-election" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://scroll.in/article/732412/turkey-gets-a-taste-for-european-style-radicalism-ahead-of-election</a><br>
<br>
Turkey gets a taste for European-style radicalism ahead of election<br>
With plans to shake up democracy, it's no wonder the HDP is being<br>
compared to Syriza and Podemos.<br>
Omer Tekdemir, The Conversation · Yesterday · 08:30 pm<br>
<br>
The election taking place in Turkey on June 7 is an important turning<br>
point for the country’s political system. A central issue in this<br>
contest is whether more power should be transferred from the Turkish<br>
parliament to the president – as is hoped by incumbent Recep Tayyip<br>
Erdoğan.<br>
Standing against Erdoğan’s ruling AKP (Justice and Development Party)<br>
is a new party called the HDP (People’s Democracy Party). This was<br>
formed out of a collection of 36 once independent members of<br>
parliament.<br>
<br>
What is the HDP?<br>
<br>
The HDP has emerged as a radical democratic project, built on the<br>
foundations laid by pro-Kurdish political parties (from HEP to the<br>
BDP). It seeks to challenge the established order, aiming to radically<br>
transform the AKP’s neo-liberal and conservative understanding of<br>
democracy with a so-called passive revolution. For many, it is<br>
Turkey’s equivalent to Greece’s Syriza and Spain’s Podemos political<br>
parties and social movements.<br>
<br>
The HDP manifesto for the parliamentary election calls for bringing<br>
humanity back into politics. There is a strong emphasis on equal<br>
rights for women, LGBT people and workers and on social security for<br>
all. There are plans to increase the minimum wage, tackle youth<br>
unemployment and provide everyone with a basic package of free water<br>
and electricity. The party also emphasises free healthcare and<br>
education as well as peace – including by ending trade embargoes<br>
against Armenia.<br>
<br>
When it comes to the EU, the HDP says it would pursue full membership<br>
“within the scope of our principles” – suggesting that like Syriza in<br>
Greece, the party has some scepticism about neo-liberal aspects of the<br>
union by offering an alternative EU project.<br>
<br>
Significantly, the party would also shift the state away from religion<br>
and promote freedom of belief, ending the requirement for all children<br>
to have a religious education and abolishing the government’s<br>
Directorate of Religious Affairs – the body the oversees the practice<br>
of Islam in Turkey.<br>
<br>
The HDP also has bold ideas about Kurdistan. Turkish politics has, for<br>
30 years, been characterised by the battle between the PKK (Kurdistan<br>
Worker’s Party) and the Turkish armed forces. Over this time, 40,000<br>
people have died and three million have been displaced as the PKK<br>
fought for a separate, “free” Kurdistan.<br>
<br>
The HDP’s view is that Kurdish rights are more likely to be achieved<br>
by radically reforming Turkish democracy. It wants to decentralise<br>
Turkish politics, setting up regional assemblies to ensure that all<br>
“ethnic identities” have the right to self governance.<br>
<br>
A transnational movement<br>
<br>
The rise of the HDP comes as the radical left is sweeping to power<br>
elsewhere in Europe, seeking to give a voice to the voiceless. The<br>
best known is of course Syriza in Greece, which won the February 2015<br>
election by offering an alternative to established politics.<br>
<br>
Most recently, in Spain, left-wing collective Podemos won 15 seats in<br>
Andalusia’s regional parliament – its first serious election since it<br>
secured five seats in the European parliament and joined the European<br>
new left. Podemos has its roots in protest movements and later became<br>
connected to anti-austerity social movements.<br>
<br>
The HDP has links with these groups and is continuing the<br>
transnational trend on the periphery of the EU. Yiannas Bournous, a<br>
member of Syriza’s central committee, attended the HDP’s election<br>
rally in İzmir a few weeks before polling day and a Syriza delegation<br>
visited Kobanê in 2014 to show the party’s support for the Kurds<br>
there.<br>
<br>
On top of its political heritage, the HDP also has links with the<br>
serhıldan (the Kurdish intifada), Kurdish street movement and the more<br>
recent, Occupy Gezi movement.<br>
<br>
Like its European counterparts, the HDP is seeking to bring greater<br>
democratic power to citizens, giving them a greater say in the issues<br>
that affect them, from the environment, individual rights such as<br>
abortion and employment security.<br>
<br>
Then there is young, charismatic co-chairman Selahattin Demirtaş – who<br>
won 9.8% of the votes cast in Turkey’s presidential election of August<br>
2014. He has been compared to Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras and Podemos<br>
leader Pablo Iglesias.<br>
<br>
Demirtaş is popular among not only his own party but many groups who<br>
feel ostracised by the Turkish political structure, which is dominated<br>
by the centre right and centre left – from Alevis, Christians and Jews<br>
to ethnic minorities such as Georgians, Arabs, Turkmens, Albanians and<br>
Lazs.<br>
<br>
Even as Turkey seeks to emulate the EU by evolving into a modern,<br>
neo-liberal society, these groups are often the most excluded and<br>
alienated members of society. They do not have a particularly high<br>
public profile and are not represented by the mainstream parties.<br>
<br>
The HDP has thrived by building an allegiance between the Kurdish<br>
movement and other social and political democratic forces struggling<br>
against this exclusion.<br>
<br>
Just as Syriza and Podemos have appealed to the people who feel<br>
forgotten by their governments, the HDP is doing the same through<br>
offering a new model of life with a radical plural democratic<br>
political project.<br>
<br>
Success may be harder for this new player though. It stands little<br>
chance of getting into government but if it can pass the (extremely<br>
high) election threshold of 10% of the national vote, it can win a<br>
place in parliament and begin to have an influence over the democratic<br>
direction of the country.<br>
<br>
This article was originally published on The Conversation.<br>
<br>
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</div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div>Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: <a href="http://commonstransition.org" target="_blank">http://commonstransition.org</a> </div><div><br></div>P2P Foundation: <a href="http://p2pfoundation.net" target="_blank">http://p2pfoundation.net</a> - <a href="http://blog.p2pfoundation.net" target="_blank">http://blog.p2pfoundation.net</a> <br><br><a href="http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation" target="_blank"></a>Updates: <a href="http://twitter.com/mbauwens" target="_blank">http://twitter.com/mbauwens</a>; <a href="http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens</a><br><br>#82 on the (En)Rich list: <a href="http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/" target="_blank">http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/</a> <br></div></div></div></div>
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