HDP co-chair says party leans on PKK's Syrian affiliate PYD

In response to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's remarks that Ankara cannot strike a deal with those who "lean against a separatist terrorist organization," alluding to the PKK, Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Figen Yüksekdağ has said her party supported the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its People's Protection Units (YPG), the Syrian offshoot of the PKK, which is branded a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU. Speaking in the border town of Suruç, Yüksekdağ said: "They deem our party to be leaning on a terrorist organization… We lean on the YPJ [Women's Protection Units], YPG and PYD and we do not see any harm in supporting them."

Her remarks came as a response to President Erdoğan's recent critical remarks on billing coming together with government officials at Dolmabahçe palace and HDP deputies as a deal.

On Friday, Erdoğan said that he does not accept the expression "Dolmabahçe Agreement," referring to the reconciliation declaration consisting of 10 points that was shared with the public following the meeting between HDP deputies and Deputy Prime Minister Yalçın Akdoğan at Istanbul's Dolmabahçe Palace on Feb. 28. The 10 points were declared a road map for a final solution of Turkey's Kurdish issue and 30-year PKK armed insurgency.

Speaking to the press after performing the Eid al-Fitr prayer at Istanbul's Ataşehir Mimar Sinan Mosque on Friday morning, Erdoğan said: "I by no means accept the expression the Dolmabahçe Agreement." Erdoğan added that if a step is to be taken concerning the future of the country, it should be taken in Parliament. "An agreement cannot be made with those who lean their backs on the terrorist organization [PKK]," Erdoğan said.

Deputy Prime Minister Yalçın Akdoğan, Interior Minister Efkan Ala and HDP Deputies Sırrı Süreyya Önder, İdris Baluken and Pervin Buldan held talks on Feb. 28 to discuss and outline the steps that need to be taken to ensure a cease-fire between the government and the outlawed PKK. The two parties had agreed on a plan based on 10 articles, after which they made a joint statement at Istanbul's Dolmabahçe Palace unveiling the articles.

Since then, Erdoğan has on a number of public occasions and in media statements said that he did not approve of the content of the declaration, implying that the government had proceeded with the talks without reaching a mutual understanding with him, an allegation challenged by some members of the Cabinet.

In her speech, Yüksekdağ further added that the HDP, just like it backed Kobani while YPG forces were driving out the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), will also support its restructuring process.

The HDP, which denies it has organic bonds with the PKK at every chance, has had trouble detaching itself from the PKK's acts of violence and resistance to laying down arms. HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş recently billed his party as solely a mediator in the reconciliation process the government is pursuing to end the decades-long conflict with the PKK, apparently upon pressure by Ankara to call for disarmament of the organization. The HDP, however, openly reveals its support for the YPG purportedly counting on its U.S.-backed support as fighters against ISIS, which is a common foe to everyone.

The PYD's YPG expelled ISIS from the border town of Kobani in January. Since then, the YPG has emerged as the most significant partner on the ground in Syria for the U.S.-led alliance that is trying to roll back ISIS advances. The collaboration between the YPG and the U.S. has been a matter of unease for Turkey, which has accused its ally of turning its back on its concerns while fighting ISIS.

Yüksekdağ also recently drew criticism after she said those who voted for the HDP in the June 7 general elections, bringing it over the 10 percent election threshold, asked for the liberation of Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the PKK. "There is also the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan in the future. Unless Öcalan and other prisoners are liberated, it is impossible to talk about political freedom in Turkey," she said. Yüksekdağ added: "While millions of people voted for Öcalan's freedom, peace and reconciliation, none of the ruling parties or a coalition government can ignore it." Öcalan is the leader of the PKK and is currently incarcerated in the prison on İmralı Island.