Selahattin Demirtaş, the jailed former co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), called for national unity and courage in a written statement shared on social media Monday, warning against what he described as imperialist interventions and domestic polarization as conflict intensifies across the Middle East.
In the message posted on X, Demirtaş urged all political actors in Turkey to act with “the highest level of effort, courage and wisdom” to resolve internal disputes peacefully, while condemning foreign military operations against Iran and calling for a return to diplomacy.
He described the Iranian regime as oppressive and closed to democracy but insisted that “no justification can be found for imperial intervention.” Demirtaş warned that foreign involvement in the region will likely persist until geopolitical goals are met and called on Turkey to defend regional peace as a matter of principle.
Against this backdrop Demirtaş called for swift domestic reforms to strengthen unity and justice. He said the process of disarming, in line with Abdullah Öcalan’s February 27 call for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to lay down its arms and disband itself, must be completed without delay, provocation or obstruction.
He urged an end to what he called “political-looking judicial harassment,” warning that such practices only erode the rule of law and weaken domestic cohesion. He called for the release of detained elected officials and bureaucrats, emphasizing that their trials should proceed without detention in accordance with Turkish law.
“The trial of elected mayors and bureaucrats without detention is also required by our domestic law, and concrete progress must now be made in this regard, with releases granted and cases concluded as quickly as possible through a fair judicial process. While the Middle East is engulfed in flames, we must not insist on attitudes that exclude society,” Demirtaş said.
While reaffirming the right to democratic opposition and government oversight, Demirtaş said national unity should take precedence in times of crisis. “Unity and solidarity will surround Turkey, not the ruling party,” he wrote, stressing that defending the homeland should not be equated with political allegiance.
“We will resolve our internal issues among ourselves, within a framework of mutual trust and brotherhood,” he added, calling for an end to attitudes rooted in resentment or revenge.
Demirtaş also proposed that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan convene a cross-party working group in parliament to establish a shared policy roadmap for domestic and foreign affairs, especially in light of growing regional instability.
He concluded the statement by invoking a spirit of coexistence, declaring, “This storm will eventually subside, and we, as the ancient peoples of these lands, will live here together, equally and freely.”
Demirtaş has been imprisoned since 2016 on a range of charges widely seen as politically motivated. The European Court of Human Rights has ruled multiple times in favor of his release.