Co-chairman of the People's Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtaş, spoke at their party's meeting in Kırşehir.
The opening lines of the speech by Demirtaş began:
Attacks on HDP
"As they continue their campaign of lies, slander and every type of provocation in order to leave our party under the electoral threshold, their palaces will be shaken, their caliphate and sultanate that they've established will wither away, and the parties in power who cannot accept this will wither away."
"It is my request from you—who carry out the work of HDP in Kırşehir, who give their hearts to HDP, who vote for HDP, and my brothers and sisters who are thinking of voting. There has never existed a concept of an enemy party for us. Whichever party you vote for, vote—that's how we'll approach it. They will incessantly try to provoke us. Never pay attention to these provocations. These attacks are trying to make HDP an enemy everywhere. But we shouldn't speak with the same language."
"If we all speak with the same language, unfortunately their language—let alone with the President's or the Prime Minister's language—God forbid, this place turns into Syria. These attacks will turn Turkey into Syria. We shall not fall into the provocative, ugly and slanderous trap of these attacks. We shall approach this election campaign patiently and peacefully. We shall win while believing in our inner strength and faith."
"It is necessary for democracy, not a one-man system, not to independence, or to the country's dictatorship. The stamp (mühür—reference to the stamp used in political elections in Turkey) which will determine the future of your children and your grandchildren is the stamp in your hands. Do not say 'What does it change?' It changes much. For 5 years, from election to election, that stamp's true usefulness is a lesson to those of you who remember. That is the seal of Solomon." (Turkish proverb meaning 'the buck stops here'.)
"Everyone wants to live in the hometown of Hacı Bektaş and Neşet Ertaş, the center of Ahilik culture (a type of old Ottoman apprenticeship in artwork). Of course each resident of Kırşehir wants to live here in the memories of the village. We know this, but hunger, poverty and being forced aboard—this is not the fate of the residents of Kırşehir, it is a conscious policy."
"Prepare for the lack of agriculture here, which is what they want. Abandon your village. Wait in the unemployment line in the factories of the big cities. Because, if there is an army of unemployed outside, workers on the inside are cheap; it is easy to be worked like a slave."
"On June 8, all of us will be together in a great air of celebration as we will face this day with great enthusiasm. Turkey is not a poor country, but income distribution is an injustice; the way it is distributed where millions of people who have become poor live."
"Unfortunately, they have created this wealth on top of this army of the poor. We will take less tax from you, the ones who work with sweat. Right now, the exact opposite is being done. It it those who give the least amount of tax, those who earn much in the rooms full of money, on the stock market, in the banks. You, those who work and produce with sweat, are paying 70% in taxes. For starters, we need to provide justice in tax distribution.
Contract labor should be abolished
"It is necessary to abolish all contract labor. Contract labor is something that shall not remain if there is power in the people's support of HDP. Everyone will be permanent. Everyone will work in security. The boss will be against the cost of this. The bosses' earnings are not as precious as your lives. We need to construct a government, a society which puts the human being at its center."
(Source: http://www.imctv.com.tr/88452/2015/05/demirtas-hdpyi-her-yerde-dusman-etmeye-calisiyorlar/)
