'History will tell who the terrorist is', says Turkey's HDP in reaction to Erdoğan

During a press conference after the G20 Summit in Hamburg yesterday (July 8), Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan answered a question about the jailed co-chair of HDP (People’s Democratic Party), Selahattin Demirtaş, by calling him a ‘terrorist.’

“The authority to release terrorists from jails is not at our discretion. The person you mention is a terrorist. He is such a terrorist that he led all of my Kurdish siblings out to the streets and had 53 of my Kurdish siblings got killed by other Kurds. These people (HDP’s jailed lawmakers) are people who had dared to say that they had PKK and YPG have their backs”, said Erdoğan.

In reaction to his assertions, HDP released a statement condemning Erdoğan’s remarks and said ‘history will tell who the terrorist is’.

Below is the statement shared by HDP under the hashtag of #WeareDemirtaş:

1. Selahattin Demirtaş is not a terrorist but the co-chair of the HDP and he represents the will of millions. He is a member of parliament. He is an honorable person who was nominated for the presidency. With his struggle and ideas he has become a symbol of hope for the people living in Turkey and has earned a place in their hearts and minds.

2. With his statement Erdoğan clearly intervenes in proceedings and the judiciary, and he is, in effect, dictating the verdict. At the same time he is openly threatening the Constitutional Court of Turkey.

3. In addition to all this, for Erdoğan to say, precisely one sentence before calling Demirtaş a terrorist, "Turkey is a country under the rule of law," and then, a minute later, for him to say, "The judiciary is independent," is frankly, quite noteworthy: He is lying, in both cases.

4. It is in no way acceptable for a President to give speeches in this tone. We condemn and protest this statement by Erdoğan in the strongest manner possible. History will tell who the terrorist is.

5. We would like to share with the public our determination to hold the AKP Chairperson accountable for his abovementioned arrogant words - both in the political sphere, and in the field of international law.

Source: https://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/erdogan-in-demirtas-bir-teroristtir-sozlerine-hdp-den-yanit-168893.html