"It is necessary for the Kurds in Turkey to stay away from war and not to break away from democracy," Barij Celali told KurdPress in an interview about the situation of the Kurds in the country.

"The Justice and Development Party (AKP) has slowly undergone fundamental changes since 2013; especially after 2015 and the failure of the reconciliation process between the government and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the HDP and after the defeat of the coup against the government, which is attributed to "Fathullah Gulen". The government consequently turned to a harsh policy that took democracy away and brought totalitarianism to Turkey,” Mr. Celali further said.

He continued: "Power was taken from various institutions and taken over by the government, so that the government took over all the affairs of Turkey, as a result of which a fierce confrontation began with activists, politicians, parties and various civil and academic groups."

He added: "The government's policy circle was completed after 2018 and the change of the government system from parliamentary to presidential. The government, therefore, was able to take power completely. From 2018, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) with the help of the nationalist but racist party of the MHP formed a coalition and drove Turkey away from democracy, and the country is now run by one person, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.”

"Erdogan has moved away from the West politically, but not economically and commercially, and has moved closer to Russia and China. As a result of this policy and after the coup and the escalation of the security situation in the country, Turkey economy is slowly weakening and Western companies are moving from Turkey one after another,” the politician also said.

He added: "The government has turned to a security policy and arrested critics, journalists and politicians due to successive failures. The situation this raised the voice of Erdogan's party members, and those who were marginalized by him decided to split and form parties. People like former Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and former Economy Minister Ali Babacan, who were close to Erdogan, left the party.”

The politician and spokesman for the Kurdish language movement in Turkey said: "This split will not be in AKP’s favor as each of these two parties will probably win 5% of the AKP votes. This will reduce the AKP votes to under 40% and the role of the party will dwindle in general and in the Turkish parliament as a whole. The AKP is well aware of this and wants to reach an agreement with other parties such as the Nationalist Party and the "Good" not lose the election.

Referring to the effects of the economy on the success and failure of the ruling governments in Turkey, Mr. Celali said: "Whenever the economic situation deteriorates, the ruling governments weaken and give way to other ruling parties. The Turkish people are very sensitive about this issue and at such times, they seek change and support new parties.”

Referring to the newly formed party of the Democracy and Progress led by Ali Babacan, former Minister of Economy and an old friend of Erdogan, Barij Celali explained: "Ali Babacan is a liberal and has good ties with the West and is more likely to succeed in the elections and Turkey's political future. His party can be an alternative to the AKP. The Kemalists (Republican Peoples’ Party) have also made democratic changes among themselves and are preparing for change.

He continued: "There is still no clear picture of the future and the years ahead are challenging and risky years for Turkey. The Turkish economy is very unstable and is getting worse day by day and the dollar exchange rate has reached its highest level in years compared to the Turkish currency. The prices of goods and commodities are rising every day and there are dark days waiting for Turkey; especially with the policies that Erdogan pursues in Syria, Iraq, Libya and the Black Sea and the differences he has with Greece, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other countries.”

"Half or more than half of the Kurdish votes do not go to the People's Democratic Party (HDP), which is known as a Kurdish party. They do not accept the party and the ideology of the PKK. These Kurds either vote for the AKP or do not go to the polls at all,” Mr. Celali told KurdPress said about the efforts of the Kurds and Kurdish political parties in Turkey.

He continued: "After the formation of the Future Party led by Ahmet Davutoglu and the Progress and Democracy Party led by Ali Babacan, some Kurds who have lost hope in the AKP policies and do not vote for the HDP, will probably vote for the newly-formed parties, as the two new parties have been campaigning extensively in the Kurdish regions of Turkey.”

Mr. Celali added: "Unfortunately or fortunately, apart from the HDP, there is no other influential Kurdish party that the Kurdish people can vote for. The Kurds are forced to either vote for the HDP or cast their ballots for other parties."

Criticizing the policies of the HDP, the independent politician in Turkey Kurdistan said: "The HDP and the PKK must abandon the ideas that are not compatible with the Kurdish culture. With a left-wing and an ill-imitated Marxist policy, they cannot represent the Kurdish people. Why are we calling it ill? because in these 40 years, by changing their minds from independence to autonomy and federalism, they have come to the idea of the brotherhood of the people under the Turkish flag. They have not shown a specific policy of their own.”

"After 2015 and the trench war between the army and the PKK, many cities in Turkey Kurdistan were destroyed and thousands of young and old Kurds died and thousands of young Kurds were imprisoned. Today, people are dissatisfied with the policies of the HDP and the PKK and do not want to wage a meaningless war for the political system and the Turkish flag. The Kurdish people say that it is better to fight for a Kurdish policy and the Kurdish language rather than serving Turkey under the name of the Kurds and eventually see our house destroyed,” he explained.

The politician and spokesman for the Kurdish Language Movement in Turkey stressed that the Kurds must turn to a rational policy, adding that: "It is necessary for the Kurds to refrain from extremism and violent policies and military confrontations and to pursue their rights with a national awareness. The Kurds should think about this and pursue the right policy away from violence. It is easy to communicate with the outside world with the same policy of non-violence and civil actions and talk about their rights with the representatives of other countries.”

Barij Celali added: "The Kurds do not have a strong military force and do not need to fight against a big government like Turkey and are not sociologically ready for this move; so the only way left for the Kurds is to use all democratic and legitimate tools to achieve their rights.”

He added: "Kurds in Turkey must learn from the changes occurred in the region and use them and think beyond ideologies and be ready and united for any possible political event. It is imperative that they do not cut themselves off from democracy.”

Reporter’s code: 50101