Garo Paylan: It’s not having 3 Armenian MPs in Parliament that matters, but what they will say and do

Responding to AGOS Editor-in-Chief Yetvart Danzikyan’s questions via Periscope, Paylan said that they had expected to win 11-13% of the votes, and that the results were not a surprise.

Paylan stated that the HDP’s victory had come as a result of 4 years of hard work, and said, “We founded the HDP in 2011. During the 2-year foundation period, all identities and all democratic groups came together. Our party includes all identities, and we stand for equality. We are also aware that this has not been tried in politics in Turkey before. Ours is a discourse of radical democracy with no ifs and buts.”

One of the 3 new Armenian MPs in Parliament, Paylan explained his goals as follows: “It’s not having 3 Armenian MPs in Parliament matters, it’s what they will say and do. My party will stand out with its policy based on equality. The AKP also has Kurdish MPs but we have not witnessed an egalitarian approach from them. All the other parties need to show more effort on this matter. It was this discourse that brought us success, I wish other parties can see that so that politics in Turkey can change.”

The language of discrimination and marginalization punished everyone

Paylan also shared his view on the Solution Process, saying, “The Solution Process [for the Kurdish Question] must continue. The AKP’s language of marginalization and hate speech sought to punish everyone but itself. Yet this poisonous language led to the loss of half the votes they received at the previous general election. I hope that the AKP, too, can transform itself. This is the only way in which we can gift Turkey a new constitution based on equality.”