Demirtaş announces retirement from active politics
Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish
Imprisoned Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş has announced his retirement from active politics.
Demirtaş shared a portion of his upcoming article, which he said would be published tomorrow on the Artı Gerçek news website, on his Twitter account:
"On my behalf, I sincerely apologize for not being able to present a policy worthy of our people. I promise to rectify these shortcomings with my practical efforts.
"I also thank those who have offered constructive criticism. I will try to benefit from the criticisms. While continuing the struggle with resilience like every comrade from inside the prison, I am leaving active politics at this stage."
The politician, who has been imprisoned on "terrorism" charges for nearly seven years, has been actively using Twitter to convey his political messages.
Yesterday, Demirtaş wrote an article on Artı Gerçek, criticizing his party for its loss of votes in the May 14 elections, citing late initiation of election campaigns and "working like a local association."
Demirtaş was arrested in November 2016 during his tenure as co-chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), and despite decisions from the ECtHR, Turkish courts have refused to release him.
Merhabalar. Yarın Artı Gerçek'te yayımlanacak röportajımdan iki paragrafı sizlerle paylaşıyorum:
— Selahattin Demirtaş (@hdpdemirtas) May 31, 2023
"Ben kendi adıma, halkımıza layık bir politika ortaya koyamadığımız için içtenlikle özür diliyorum. Pratikteki çabalarımla bu eksiklikleri giderme sözü veriyorum.
Ayrıca, bana…
(VC/VK)