Leaders summit without HDP in presidential palace

Today, President Erdoğan will host AKP Chair Binali Yıldırım, CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli in his presidential palace in Beştepe. It is remarkable that HDP is the only party that is not invited to the meeting where the chairs of political parties in the parliament will come together. Erdoğan will thank three leaders for their stance against the coup and get their advice.

HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş: it is unwise to continue to exclude HDP even after the coup attempt

Demirtaş hasn't been invited to the meeting of party chairs and he stated that it is an unwise and crude attitude. He also noted that this is not a time for acting like as if there is a competition for elections.

Speaking to Mahmut Ilıca from Cumhuriyet newspaper, Demirtaş said:

“First of all, it is unwise and crude to continue to exclude HDP even after the coup attempt. It indicates that they have not yet fully understood the consequences of the attempted coup. HDP and the social circles it represents is the key to the democracy in Turkey. There is a mentality that left the solution of the Kurdish question to the army and this mentality triggered the coup attempt. Now, they try to exclude HDP once again. It seems that they think that they would solve this problem with Turkish national front and if so, please, help yourselves. However, I think that this is a mistake. HDP got 6 million votes. We are the third party in the parliament. 

“We also have suggestions for solving the problems in Turkey. However, the state doesn't appreciate them. It is sad; this is not a time for acting like as if there is a competition for elections. The night when the coup attempt was unfolded, we took a firm stand against the coup. It is also strange how the opposition parties can accept such an attitude. The putschists wanted to cause an internal conflict based on ethnicity and they are playing into the putschists' hands.

“They [AKP and the president] bear personal grudge against HDP, which is ultimately the most severe critic of AKP. Also, they want to identify us with violence. This attitude of marginalization and targeting is a state policy. They want to show that this hasn't changed and won't change.”