On Saturday, a delegation of the PES travelled to Ankara to support our associated member party in Turkey, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and its leader, ahead of their extraordinary congress. The opposition in Turkey, part of which is the CHP, is under attack currently, as many of its members have been arrested or imprisoned, including the mayor of Istanbul Ekrem İmamoğlu, the chosen CHP candidate for the next presidential election which is scheduled to take place in 2028. In addition to his arbitrary arrest, other elected opposition mayors across Turkey, lawyers, journalists, and reports of 2000 protestors have also been unjustly detained.
The PES delegation to Ankara, led by PES Deputy Secretary Generals Saar Van Bueren and Yonnec Polet, included representatives from the S&D Group and PES member parties from Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden. The visit was the second in a series of progressive missions to Turkey, as just last week, PES President Stefan Löfven and PES Secretary General Giacomo Filibeck and other high-level PES representatives visited Istanbul and protested outside the jail where İmamoğlu is being held.
Speaking at the joint press conference with the CHP leader Özgür Özel, PES Deputy Secretary General Yonnec Polet said:
‘‘We are back in Turkey, answering the call from CHP to defend democracy, and we will continue coming as long as it takes in support of all defenders of democracy in Turkey.
Reestablishing democracy, the rule of law, freedom of the press, and the opportunity to express free will is a fundamental step in Turkey’s journey to European accession that can only be made under CHP.
I would also like to express my admiration to the millions of Turkish protestors who have been peacefully demonstrating across the country in the name of the rule of law and upholding Turkish democracy in the face of autocracy.
Young people in Turkey must have the right to live in a democratic country, where the rule of law is guaranteed, and with an economy that is functioning for the whole population.’’
Former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou from the PES member party PASOK, and part of the PES delegation, also praised the courage of the CHP and the entire Turkish opposition, standing up to the autocratic regime of Erdogan.
During its extraordinary Congress on Saturday, the CHP elected Özgür Özel as its leader with an overwhelming majority of 1,171 of 1,276 ballots cast. The PES congratulated Özgür Özel on his re-election and committed to supporting him and the CHP in their fight to reestablish democracy in Turkey.
The PES delegation to Ankara included:
- Yonnec Polet, Deputy Secretary General, PES
- Saar van Bueren, Deputy Secretary General, PES
- Juliette Delacroix, International Secretary, PS Belgium
- Kristian Vigenin, MEP S&D Group, BSP Bulgaria
- Serpil Midyatli, Deputy Party Leader, SPD Germany
- Derya Türk-Nachbaur, Member of the Bundestag and Deputy Spokesperson for Human Rights, SPD Germany
- Serdar Yüksel, Member of the Bundestag, SPD Germany
- Philipp Fink, International Secretary, SPD Germany
- Joseph Sattler, Policy Officer in the Bundestag, SPD Germany
- Philipp Witt, Chief of Staff, SPD Germany
- Haris Doukas, Mayor of Athens and PES Group Vice President, PES Group in the CoR
- Peppe Provenzano, International Secretary, PD Italy
- Nicolo Carboni, Relations with EU & PES, PD Italy
- Alptekin Akdogan, Member of Board, PvdA Netherlands
- Ties Huis in t Veld, International Secretary, PvdA Netherlands
- Paula Carvalho Olovsson, International Secretary, SAP Sweden
- Oscar Ernerot, Secretary General, Olof Palm Center
- Astrid Boursier Tarazona, International Policy Advisor, PES
