According to Kurdistan Press, Selahattin Demirtaş, former co-chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), and his fellow politician, Adnan Selçuk Mirzakli, former mayor of Ada who was dismissed from his post with the appointment of caretaker government and sent to prison, issued a joint message expressing their support for the peace process and democratic society.

Demirtaş and Mirzakli, who are being held in Edirne's F-Type High Security Prison, emphasized the importance of the ongoing peace process in this message and appreciated the efforts of Abdullah Öcalan and the Bahçeli government to advance the peace process.

Gülestan Kılıç Küçüküğüğit, deputy chairman of the HDP parliamentary group, read the letter in the Turkish parliament's general assembly.The letter reads:

"Mr. President, esteemed party leaders and representatives; with greetings and respect to you; we hope that together you will implement another critical step in a very important and historic effort for peace; an effort that has the capacity to fundamentally change the fate of our country and region.

Naturally, there will be discussions, criticisms and suggestions, each of which is valuable and helpful. However, we want you to know that we have been present in this process with all our heart, sincerity and seriousness, only to strengthen and expand the peace, prosperity and brotherhood of 86 million citizens and have supported it with all our might.

This process is not a process of division and separation or a trade-off based on superficial deals.No one should waste their time and energy searching for hidden calculations and dirty plans behind these valuable efforts.

No matter how much they try to subvert this process, the circles that look at it with suspicion or negative prejudice will find nothing beneath it except our thousand-year-old brotherhood, our desire to embrace each other tightly and the feeling of being Turkey together, with Kurds and Turks.

Every step that has been taken or will be taken in the future will pave the way for new horizons, new reforms and a new life. Undoubtedly, all these efforts must be followed by strong and deep-rooted reforms in the fields of democracy, justice, equality and freedom, and help our people achieve the peaceful life they deserve.

To achieve this goal, it is very beneficial for all individuals and groups to examine the issues with great care, sensitivity and seriousness.As a result of 40 years of conflict, there is almost no one left whose heart is not wounded.

Therefore, we must proceed with a firm, mature and moral stance, without creating a scene or show of victory and without arousing the feelings and worries of defeat; we must share our pains, leave them behind and move hand in hand towards the future.

We especially thank Abdullah Öcalan

We hope that every vote you cast will strengthen our peace, unity and brotherhood, and that your criticisms and warnings will be expressed on a constructive basis.

We hope that this step, which we believe will be a source of good for all of us, will also bring civility, cooperation and maturity to politics by opening new doors to it.On this occasion, we would like to express our gratitude, first of all, to the esteemed President and the Bahçeli government, who demonstrated their political will in the strongest possible way to initiate and advance this difficult process, and also, in particular, to Abdullah Öcalan, who has made great efforts for peace.

Gratitude to the leaders of political parties

We also express our gratitude to Numan Kurtulmus, Özgür Özel, Mahmut Arikan, Ali Babacan, Ahmet Davutoğlu, Erkan Baş, Seyyed Aslan, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu, who have contributed to the process and its healthy progress in all its stages.

We also express our gratitude to Musat Dervisoğlu and Fatih Erbakan, who have contributed to the process with their negative criticisms, albeit indirectly.Of course, we would like to express our gratitude to our friends at the party who have been the driving force of this process with great sacrifices, our co-chairs Tuncer Bakrhan and Tolay Hatem Oğulları, and the members of the Imrali delegation.

Here, we would like to pay tribute to our comrade Sari Soraya Onder, wishing her soul peace, and extend our greetings to all the delegates.

We would like to express our special gratitude to the efforts of the anonymous individuals who have spared no effort behind the scenes of this process. May God be pleased with all those who have contributed to peace and brought a drop of water to extinguish this fire, and may the law that will be passed be a source of goodness.

We would like to greet the General Assembly with respect once again.

Salahuddin Demirtaş  /  Selcuk Mirzakli