Hasip Kaplan, a former deputy of the pro-PKK Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), has resigned from the HDP and quit politics following a backlash over the racist remarks he made recently.
Earlier Tuesday, Kaplan issued a stern warning against politicians of Turkish origin mulling to run for HDP chairmanship. The current co-chairs are under arrest on terror charges. "In my humble opinion, no Turk should dare set their eyes on the HDP chairmanship in the upcoming general assembly, everyone must know their place!" he said on Twitter.
He further labeled users criticizing his tweet as "racists," claiming that the party largely represented Kurds, and he was only being realistic. The HDP, which claims to represent all ethnicities in Turkey despite its strong links to the PKK terrorist group, was quick to condemn Kaplan. "The racist, discriminative and marginalizing posts on Hasip Kaplan's Twitter account have nothing to do with the HDP's principles," the party said in a statement, adding that it strongly condemns Kaplan. However, Kaplan criticized the HDP and defended his controversial remarks about Turkish members of the party.
"I am resigning from politics, and the party [HDP]. Forgive me, I should have done it when a Turkish representative was elected to Kurdish National Congress," he said while blaming the party of discrimination against Kurdish and Turkish deputies.
