Referring to Erdogan's recent statement that there is no such thing as a Kurdish issue in Turkey, the PÎK President General, Hikmet Serbilind, told Kurdpress in an interview that "He [Erdogan] is declaring there is no such issue [Kurdish question] in Turkey. While, Erdogan and the AKP [ruling Justice and Development Party] are in a severe crisis of political legitimacy, various parties are abusing the name and votes of the Kurds in order to take power.

"Since the Republic of Turkey until today, the Kurdish issue has existed in Turkey and Turkey has used every means to suppress it. The Kurds have fought for their rights and have caused a lot of human and financial losses for the case," the PÎK President General added.

Mr. Serbilind added: "Turkey has not taken any action to resolve the Kurdish issue to date and considers it a threat. In his 2005 visit to Diyarbakir, Erdogan stated that the Kurdish issue is my problem and I will solve it. He has been using this tactic to deceive Kurdish voters. He will never take any action to solve it.

He went on to say that: "Some action were taken between 2005 and 2013 and, in 2009, negotiations were held between the PKK [Kurdistan Workers' Party] and MIT [Turkey Intelligence Service] in Oslo for the peace process, but finally the negotiations were failed and the war resumed in 2016."

Mr. Serbilind pointed out that the AKP and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) coalition has turned to racism and elimination [of others], declaring that there is no Kurdish issue in Turkey and that they are using any means to suppress it.

The PÎK Secretary General further said Erdogan should be asked "if there is no Kurdish issue in Turkey, then why thousands of Kurds have been killed for a hundred years and the war in Kurdistan has been going on for forty years?!"

Mr. Serbilind continued: "Hundreds of Kurdish villages and towns have been destroyed and today the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) municipalities are forcibly run by government-appointed trustees and the HDP parliament members are either imprisoned or living in the diaspora."

"All this shows that there is a Kurdish issue, and that Turkey's actions in Syria and Iraq show that the Kurdish issue is serious and that Turkey is using every means to destroy and suppress it," he said.

"Twenty-five to thirty million Kurds live in Turkey and when their languages ​​are banned and not taught, their political rights are violated and their representatives are imprisoned, it all shows that the Kurdish issue is serious and Erdogan is nothing more than a liar," the PÎK Secretary General also said.

He added: "Since 2016, Erdogan, the MHP and the Ergenekon faction have united and used every means to strike at the Kurds, but they can no longer continue this policy and the Kurds, if they are smart, can reach a strategic agreement by establishing national unity in Turkish Kurdistan and ally with opposition factions to overthrow the AKP.

Mr. Serbilind further said: "The AKP votes are decreasing day by day in Kurdistan and it is losing its legitimacy. The Kurds are no longer like in the past and they won't be deceived. The Kurdish issue is not only an economic issue but also a matter of existence, identity and freedom and as long as it is unresolved, nothing will change in Turkey.

Reporter's code: 50101